Harry Potter and the Godric Parallax
by lycanthropy1
Summary: A tale mostly about hope. Takes place just after fifth year and will end before the sixth. A traitor will be revealed, Voldemort will obtain his weapon, and Harry becomes stronger through the bonds with his friends. This is an HHr story for those interest
1. Mirror Mirror

**Disclaimer and a quick 'Thank you': **Harry Potter is the copyrighted product of one J.K. Rowling. I wish to thank her for allowing us 'fans' to explore and expound upon the wonderful world she has created for us… She truly is 'The brightest witch of our age.'

**Harry Potter and the Godric Parallax**

**---------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 1 **

**Mirror Mirror**

He found it very difficult to sleep. Tossing and turning to the point that he was soaked through from sweat. Nights had been this way for him ever since the incident at the Ministry of Magic. He was flooded with images and feelings that he knew he was no shape to deal with. All he really knew for certain was that the fates had always seemed to be against him. His life was always so hard and unfair. He had long suspected, and now knew for certain, that it was destined to be this way. He was incredibly frustrated and realized that sleep would not come until he cleared his mind. He sat up on the edge of his bed and began to rub his temples in earnest.

"That is a funny thought." He mused out loud, no trace of a smile on his face.

He couldn't quite believe it, but it seemed so long ago when that idiot of a Professor pushed him beyond his means to master even the simplest forms of Occlumancy. He was having a very difficult time of it. Since that fateful night at the Ministry he had been flooded with a wealth of emotion… fear, frustration, anger, loss and… hatred… Ohhhh yes… Hatred like he had never felt before. It had shaken him to the core.

_Exactly how did I get to this point? _He thought. He lay back down onto his bed and closed his eyes, focusing on the energies around him. _OK, relax and breathe. Concentrate on the feeling of the air flowing in and out of your lungs. _Energy began to permeate around him. It seemed to gather to him and cocoon him to the point where he was completely relaxed and in an almost hypnotic like state.

There it was again! He could feel it now rising from the depths of his very being. Soon the images came to him from his past like an unforgivable curse, unblock-able and unrelenting in its force. It hit him right in what was left of his heart and it fazed him if only for a second. Images and sounds now began to come clearly to him…

There, in the middle of a sunlit room sat a crib. A baby boy of nineteen months with sparse black hair was crying hysterically as if calling for help, begging to be picked up and held. Begging for his mum or dad to come for him and comfort him, but no one came. He cried a little while longer until sleep claimed him and the tears dried little white lines on his soft face. By the time he was two he had learned to stop crying all together… He had learned that no one would come…

A swirl of images and sounds again flooded his minds eye. Then... limping in the middle of a hallway grasping his bleeding leg with both hands was a small boy. He couldn't have been more than six years old and he wore clothes that obviously were meant for a larger child. He had messy black hair and a pained expression on his face. He knew the instant the bigger boys friends had knocked him down outside that he had seriously injured his leg.

He struggled to hold back the tears of pain as a tall slender woman with a slightly nasal voice began yelling at him.

"What have you done to yourself now!?" she scolded. "Can't you stay out of trouble for five minutes?"

"What has the little brat done to himself this time?" came a mans voice. "I am not spending another pound on that boy's medical expense! Does he think we are made of money?!"

"But it wasn't my fault!" yelled the boy, "I was playing by myself when…"

"Don't you dare talk to me like that you little liar!" the woman spat, "You are lucky we allow you to stay here at all…"

Another violent swirl of images and sounds… The same boy, now about eight, was walking amongst the sneers and sniggers of several elementary school students. They routinely laughed at his messy appearance, the over sized clothes and the school bag that had definitely seen better days, and now the soles of his shoes were beginning to peel off and made clapping noises with every step. The lunch break was over and he was doing his best to ignore the taunts as he hurried to make it back to class before _the gang_ saw him.

"Hey weirdo!" yelled a boy who was crisply dressed and easily stood a foot taller. "Going to do any more maaagiiiiic today?" to the raucous cackling of his two friends which echoed in the student hallways made of brick.

He had hoped that they would eventually tire of bullying him and move on to other things as this same scene had occurred on a weekly basis since his schooling began. It seemed as though if it weren't _this_ group it would always be another. There seemed to be no shortage of people who would treat him badly because he was different and in this instant he would be reminded of just how so.

"Why are you in such a hurry freak?!" the leader spat as he quickly ran in front of him, his two cronies positioning themselves behind him to cut off any means of escape.

"Didn't you like the mud bath we gave you last time? Just thought we'd help you look better since your _parents_ can't afford to dress you properly… oh, that's _riiiight_, you don't _have _parents." The bully sneered while again his friends laughed.

"Look, just let me get back to class OK? Please… j-just leave me alone." He begged.

"Nah, I think I'll just kick your arse a bit…" The bully said simply and promptly placed him in a head-lock.

The cronies began to hoot and holler wildly. He was really starting to get worried. He knew no help would come as it never did, and now he was starting to have trouble breathing. He was really starting to panic, and he began struggling much to the bully's amusement until he suddenly and instantly found himself in the principals' office standing on his desk.

"What the... how did I?" He began…

But he had no idea how he had suddenly found himself there and had little time to dwell as at that same moment the Principal walked in. Upon seeing him dirtying all his important papers with his shoes, gave him several whacks with a paddle and detention for a week.

More flashes of sights and sounds found the boy, now ten and still wearing clothes that were three sizes too big, at the Zoo. He was always fascinated by animals and was feeling particularly lucky to be visiting. He had never really seen them before, except for school books of course. He knew that there were programs on the tele about them but he was never allowed to watch anything on it.

At this moment he was leaning against the rail in front of the glass cages in the reptile house. There was one animal that really caught his fancy and he was staring avidly at it. Every one else he noticed would just stroll by, glance at it and then mumble _how boring _it was or that it didn't _move, _some even rapped on the glass before quickly walking away. But not him, he thought snakes were brilliant, especially poisonous ones and this one in particular really stood out to him. It was large, sleek, dark and beautiful and it pained him to see it caged and gawked at. He truly felt that he could relate as he did not like captivity either and he rather thought that this one really should be free. He had the funny inspiration of expressing this to the snake, so he said:

"They **_should_** know what it's like to feel trapped-helpless, bothered day after day, never leaving you alone, never allowing you to just be at peace…" and then much to his astonishment the snake lifted its head and nodded as if to agree.

"You – you can understand me?" he whispered, shocked greater still to hear an answer.

"_Yessss_" replied the serpent.

Several things happened at once and he wasn't quite sure what happened in what order. Suddenly the huge viper was swiftly slithering on the walkway as people began screaming in terror. _How had he gotten out of his cage? Did I do that? _He wondered as he suddenly found himself on the ground. No-one was paying him much attention and he was almost trampled but the serpent aggressively began to hiss and snap at anyone who came too near.

Something even more surprising happened to the boy as he began rising. He suddenly stopped to find that the giant snake had reared its head to look him straight in the eye. If a snake could smile, this one was definitely doing it and for the first time in a great while, the boy grinned in return.

Swirls of images and sounds faded once again into another time and place…A young man with untidy black hair and piercing eyes sat deep in thought in his four poster bed as he loosened the tie of his Hogwarts school uniform. He couldn't quite believe that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened and he feared that even his closest friends suspected him. He had just recently discovered that he was a parselmouth; he had no idea that it was quite a unique gift indeed. He was replaying the conversation he had just had with the Headmaster. _Would they really close down the school? _He knew he did NOT want to return to the home where the muggles constantly mistreated him and acted as if he were a slave only tolerated to do their bidding. He had asked the Headmaster before if he could remain at Hogwarts during the summer holidays but he had insisted that he return home at the end of every school year.

Besides, ever since he had discovered the wizarding world it had become HIS world. How could he leave it all behind? Moreover, there were quite a few witches and wizards who thought he had the potential to become greater than the Dark Lord and even on day defeat him. But he was under the strong impression, as was the great majority of the wizarding world, that it would be Dumbledore himself to do it. Coming to a decision, he rose to leave the dormitory.

"I must solve this… there is no way I'm going back THERE sooner than I have to if there is anything I can do about it!" He stated emphatically.

This image soon faded as the boy left the room… and was replaced with the recent image of Dumbledore and the battle at the Ministry. _Dumbledore… the prophecy… _Such an incredible wave of absolute hatred coursed through his body so forcefully that he virtually flew off the bed. He now stood in the middle of the poorly lit room as magic gathered and surrounded him until it became so thick that it crackled with intensity like thick bolts of green-grey electricity. He could feel himself becoming more and more powerful as the hatred swelled and flowed through him, the magic reaching out and physically touching his surroundings so much so that the bed that he was sleeping on and the night stand next to it disintegrated.

At that moment in a small bedroom several cities away - the boy who lived awoke with a start.

A/N: I haven't written anything significant since 1989 so I'm a bit out of practice, but I hope you will enjoy my version of the Harry Potter saga. I have tried to write this story following a logical progression of the events that have occurred in the first five installments. So naturally what I am writing is what I believe will take place in book six or seven to some extent and I have done my best to keep all of the characters **IN** character. That being said, I write in a style that is not pre-meditated, meaning that I throw the characters into a situation and then let them work it out on their own. Maybe you'll see what I mean as this story progresses… I will try to post a new chapter every other week or so.

On to explanations:

We know from the books that Tom Riddle was abandoned before he was born and he grew up in an orphanage, thus the lack of love, money and proper fitting clothes. For those reasons alone he would have been ostracized as Harry was at those same ages and notice that I never fully described his care takers or bullies, they were meant to seem like the Dursley's.

I also imagine that he would have learned that he was a parselmouth at the zoo much like Harry did. Where else would he have discovered that he could talk to snakes?

The 'Dark Lord' reference is none other than Grindelwald, whom Dumbledore defeated in 1945, so he would still have been alive and creating havoc in 1942 when Tom Riddle had opened the Chamber of Secrets. Remember, by no means did I actually named the Headmaster of Hogwarts in Tom's memory (It was Armando Dippet at that time) and I spoke of Dumbledore separately.

Tom learned Occlumency from _somebody _right? Why not a professor he didn't like either?

I believe that Rowling has purposefully made Tom and Harry VERY similar because the key to how these two turn out is _choice_. I think she has made it quite clear that it is the choices we make and not our birth-rights that define who we are and will become. I tried to writing the first chapter to illustrate that point, hopefully I succeeded.

To be continued…

5


	2. A Visitor in the Night

**Chapter 2**

**A Visitor in the Night**

_What was that all about? _Harry wondered as he rubbed the throbbing scar on his forehead. He had a very uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach as he tried to recall the dream he just had.

He sat up on the edge of his bed and attempted to grasp the fading images and emotions he had felt just moments ago. As his eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight creeping in through his bedroom window the pain in his scar lessened considerably, he wasn't sure it had awoken him at all.

He looked at the clock on his night stand and discovered it was quite early in the night. The digital time had just changed to 2:35am. _Has it really been only a few days? _Harry thought incredulously. It felt like it had been months. Sure it was better at the Dursley's now that the threat of "strange people" showing up on their doorstep at any given moment was firmly planted in their minds. He new for sure that they were more worried about what the neighbors would say than anything else.

They pretty much left him alone now, no more demands to make their breakfasts or do yard work. He wished they would have him do _something_ though; he was starting to get a little stir crazy with the events of the past month running through his head over and over again, in fact his dreams were getting worse now that he had wasn't physically drained from chores to put him in any kind of deep sleep like in the previous summers. He had even asked his Uncle Vernon if he could wash his car simply to be doing anything at all. If Harry were in a better mood he would have thought the expression on his Uncle's face hilarious, the veins would bulge out of his forehead and his lips would turn an unnatural shade of blue. He would then absentmindedly pull small tufts of hair out of his mustache while staring unfocused at the lighting fixture on the ceiling, ignoring Harry until he felt uncomfortable enough to leave the living room and head back up stairs to his room.

Every now and then when he spied Dudley it looked as if he wanted to say something meaningful, but then he would get a look on his face that led Harry to believe that he would suddenly think better of it… and Aunt Petunia avoided him all together. He had tried to question her on several occasions about what had happened last year and why he has to stay with them every summer, but then she would abruptly remember something she had forgotten to pick up at the grocery store and be gone from the house for hours at a time.

Harry decided that he didn't want anymore nightmares and he was honestly afraid of yelling anything out in his sleep as he had done in the past, so he got up and put his glasses on as he turned on the lamp next to his bed.

There were unopened letters strewn haphazardly all over the top. He could see Ron's scribble and Hermione's neat writing on most of them, there was even a letter from Gringotts Wizarding Bank. The only letters to which he answered were from The Order as they were to check on him every three days. They had written twice so far and were due to write again today. It was Tonks who had written the first, and Kingsley the second. They had both said pretty much the same things. "How are you doing?" and "Don't leave the house." being the prevailing themes.

And each time he wrote the same response.

_I'm fine. _

_Harry_

He would then attach the return letter to the tawny owl that delivered it and then usher it away as quickly as he could.

In truth Harry felt far from fine. He had a lot of time to think about the prophecy and what it had meant. He quickly came to the realization that the only reason people cared for him was because he was the supposed savior of the wizarding world; he was _the boy who lived_ and nothing more.

_No one cared that Sirius had died that night. No one cared that I had just about gotten my friends killed_. He thought as he looked once again to the letters his friends had written him.

Sometimes his thoughts were very clear on this but most of the time he just seemed muddled.

He knew that if Dumbledore had trusted him in the first place and told him about the Department of Mysteries and what Voldemort wanted there, he would never have gone… _He kept everything from me. He wouldn't tell me anything. Kept me locked up here and for what? I can't trust him to tell me anything anymore…And now he's doing it again! I haven't heard a thing about what's going on from him!_

Harry began to ball up his fists once more in aggravation as he thought again about the prophecy. How on earth was he supposed to defeat someone as powerful as Voldemort?

He remembered watching the duel between him and Dumbledore. There was no way he could do one hundredth of what those two did. He had no shot what so ever in surviving a confrontation.

He recalled what that old Charms witch said to Umbridge just before his O.W.L.s;

"... Dumbledore did things with his wand I had _never_ seen before…"

Dumbledore was already incredibly powerful in his fifth year. His father and the other Marauders were talented and potent enough to secretly become anamagi AND create on object as intricate as the Marauders Map! Tom Riddle's friends were all ready conceding that he was going to be a "Dark Lord" and started calling him Voldemort.

"And what can I do? At their same age…I can… I can… conjure a Patronus…" Harry whispered dejectedly.

He couldn't help but to laugh softly at himself.

"Yeah, _that'll_ kill him."

He couldn't believe that he had the _audacity_ to secretly teach Dumbledore's Army last year. He couldn't believe how incredibly brash and stupid he was to think he could protect and lead his friends into the Ministry to fight Voldemort.

He remembered the frightened look on Hermione's face when he wanted to shake her violently as they had argued about whether the Ministry was a trap or not. She had tried desperately to force some sense into him but he wouldn't listen. He was convinced his visions were real. She pleaded with him to see how impossible they really were.

How wrong he was - how right she was, he should have listened to her reasoning. He should have been less arrogant. But she followed him anyway; knowing he was wrong, knowing it was a trap… Dolohov's curse could have killed her… it would have been his fault - just as Sirius' death was his fault.

_Why did she do that? Why did she have to go? And how many potions did Madam Pomphrey give her anyway…Ten?_

Harry felt a sudden pang in his heart when he realized that he had now made targets of his friends – and for the first time since Sirius' death Harry began to sob uncontrollably. He brought his hands to his face to completely cover his feelings of shame and deaden the noise he was starting to make. He did not want to wake his relatives; he didn't want then to see him in such an embarrassing state.

All of them; Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna were now marked for death. He knew Voldemort would kill them simply because they were associated with him and it would be **HIS** fault, Harry's fault. He couldn't have it. They didn't deserve the same fate as he.

He understood from the prophecy that he was the only one who could kill Voldemort anyway, not even Dumbledore could do it. And that meant that in order to remove the threat from his friends he would have to be proactive, he would begin looking for Voldemort. He wasn't going to just sit and wait anymore while everyone else did the fighting for him.

_I will right what I have done. I will murder or be murdered. I will learn how to destroy you… Do you hear me?_ Harry clamped his eyes shut and slapped the palm of his hand on his scar. _I'll be looking for you... I'll end this on **my** terms, **not** yours_ …

After a few silent moments, Harry wiped the tears from his face and looked again at the unopened letters on his desk. He felt another jolt to his heart as he realized he was going to miss his two best friends most of all. All at once he started to have a fit of silent giggles.

"I'm… going… t-to… be… k-killed…I'm…g-going…to…d-die…" Harry was having a difficult time trying to maintain control from laughing out loud hysterically. He had such a crazed look on his face; he was quite worried that he was starting to lose his mind. There was simply no way he was powerful enough to defeat Voldemort… he felt as if he were resigning himself to death… He just hoped he could take _him_ with him.

Harry's brutal fit of hysteria ended just as abruptly as it appeared. He was overcome by a sudden rush of calmness…Peace.

"After all," Harry breathed "I have nothing to live for really – no parents, no home, nothing…but…Hedwig!"

Harry glanced up at Hedwig's empty cage and frowned.

"Where is she?" he asked with a confused expression.

Now that he thought about it he hadn't seen her in a while. He recalled that three days ago she had delivered a letter from Hermione and began pecking at him in such a manner that clearly indicated that she had wanted him to read it and respond. He refused and told her that he wouldn't be writing to anyone this summer and then had simply told her to "go away". She seamed to study him for a long moment and then he remembered her hoot indignantly as she soared back into the night.

His gaze turned back to the unopened letters on his desk and he suppressed the guilty feeling creeping into his stomach. They were probably worried about him since he hadn't bothered to answer. But what was he supposed to say? He knew what was written in those bits of parchment; he knew he didn't want to hear about Sirius in the past tense andhow he shouldn't blame himself…

_What did they know? My parents, Cedric, Sirius – ALL OF THEM MY FAULT!! Just because I **exist**!! _

Harry had never felt so angry in his entire life. He stood in front of his desk clenching his fists at his sides again but this time so tightly that his fingernails were cutting into the palms of his hands and he could feel little droplets of blood falling from them onto the carpet.

He tried once more to calm himself and gently closed his eyes. He noticed immediately how he could feel the anger in his heart – as if the emotion itself was a living entity coursing through his veins, embracing him. He could not recall ever feeling this sensation before so he concentrated harder on it.

He tried to harness the anger feeding into his heart, it made him feel more powerful than he had ever felt in his entire life. He felt it grow stronger with every pulse. And as he focused, the beating in his ears grew louder, the louder the beat – the more powerful the sensations became. It was a strange and welcome feeling – every cell in his body brimmed with a physical type of magic. Every hair on his body stood on end – almost like static electricity; surrounding and caressing, making its presence known – tangible…

Harry's concentration broke suddenly and he jumped backward in surprise as he felt a brief flash of intense heat.

He gaped at the pile of dust that stood where his desk should have been, the unopened letters untouched.

_What the…?_ He started to wonder.

And for the second time that night he jumped in surprise as a very familiar voice startled him from behind.

"Now _that's_ something I wasn't able to do until I was twenty four!"

Harry quickly turned around to find the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Headmaster looking at him with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

4


	3. The Unexpected

**Chapter 3**

**The Unexpected**

Harry wouldn't admit it, but he was glad to see that Dumbledore looked much better than when he last saw him back in the professor's office. He was resplendent in his purple and green robes, standing tall and straight as he waved his wand around the room casting a silencing charm so they wouldn't wake the Dursley's. He looked much younger and fuller of life, much like he had before he had revealed the prophecy – though his eyes still betrayed a hint of sadness.

"It appears as if we may need to begin harnessing this new found talent of yours sooner than I had anticipated." Dumbledore stated sounding quite pleased.

"P-Professor..?" Harry stuttered in bewilderment. He knew he was deep trouble now. How was he going to explain this? He remembered what happened last year when he performed underage magic, at least then he was defending himself… but now?

Dumbledore quickly read the expression on Harry's face and answered with a bemused smile;

"The Ministry has no way of tracing wand less magic Harry. Their methods are directly linked with their usage and incantations."

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and said quickly,

"But what about just before third year – with blowing up my Aunt and all? The ministry knew what happened then!"

"How could anyone NOT notice a rather bloated woman cursing at your Uncle and floating some hundred feet above your neighborhood?" Dumbledore answered with a continued smile.

"Well then what are you doing here?" Harry snapped sounding harsher than he intended.

Dumbledore regarded him for a moment slightly taken aback, searching Harry's emerald green eyes before replying seriously;

"I didn't wish to intrude upon your time of grieving Harry, but I dare say that there are several matters I wish to discuss with you. One of which I'm afraid I must insist upon as it involves life or death."

Harry looked back at Dumbledore quite shocked and at a loss for words and started once again to grow angry. _He's not even going to ask how I'm doing! I can't believe this! I haven't heard a thing from him since I've been locked up here and he just walks in here expecting me to do his bidding! Life or death!! EVERYTHING involving me is about life or death! Does he think I'm stupid? What does…?_

"I'm quite sorry to interrupt your thoughts Harry," though Dumbledore didn't sound sorry at all "I had not intended for this to be the first topic of conversation but… It is quite apparent that we must continue your Occlumency lessons. If I can read your thoughts this easily Voldemort most certainly can, and he will continue to invade your psyche to seek the information he so desires."

"Y-You just read my mind?" Harry asked stunned. "B-But you didn't use your wand or say Legilimens or anything!"

"That is precisely the point Harry. You are not in control of your thoughts. You are projecting them without being consciously aware of doing so, and thus become an easy target for anyone who wishes to gain access to information to which you would otherwise choose to remain hidden._ That_ is why you must continue with your Occlumency lessons." Dumbledore patiently explained.

"I'm **not** doing anything with Snape! He hated Sirius! He's probably happy Sirius is dead!" Harry spat, taking a step away.

"_Professor _Snape, Harry."

Harry started to reply derisively to this but Dumbledore held up a hand to stop him.

"As I promised you those many nights ago, I will explain as much as I can. Please hear me out."

When Harry didn't respond, Dumbledore continued.

"Initially I was only concerned of possession by Voldemort; I'll admit that I was worried that you would suffer his influences to the point that you would have to be destroyed. I merely wanted you to be able to block him out; I did not want him to be able to seduce you into the confusion between what he desires and what you desire, hence the visions of the Ministry and the Department of Mysteries. I was a fool on two counts; first I should have told you about the prophecy and where it was kept. I believe that if you had been properly armed with this information Voldemort would have had little success in luring you to the Ministry. Harry…I am to blame for this blatant oversight."

Dumbledore paused and took a deep breath. He removed his half-moon spectacles, lowered his head and rubbed his temples before putting them back on. He looked searchingly into Harry's eyes once more before he continued;

"Secondly I was also a fool to believe that you could have learned Occlumency properly from Professor Snape. But you see I had no alternative at the time because I couldn't teach you myself for reasons you now already know. Here again I should have explained this to you last year so you would understand- and again - I didn't."

Dumbledore sighed heavily.

"Errors of an old man Harry… I realize now that you should have been taught by someone of whom you implicitly trusted."

There was a moment of silence as Harry couldn't bring himself to believe what Dumbledore was telling him. But, he was desperate for more information so he simply whispered;

"Go on."

"Now however, it is imperative that you learn to control the projection and intrusion of your thoughts. You are a special case because your scar directly links you to Voldemort. You know the entire prophecy; we must not allow the contents to be discovered by him. Should he learn that you have the knowledge he seeks, I'm afraid he will stop at nothing to obtain it. However, I do think that we have some time before we need to worry ourselves as he assuredly believes that it was destroyed that night during the battle."

"That being said – I am right in assuming that I must work to regain your full trust?"

More a statement than question, Harry simply nodded.

"I thought as much. That is why I have already taken the liberty to train Ms. Granger... or rather she _demanded_ that I train her, so that she could pass the lessons on to you. Do try to work with her on this Harry. If I interpret her letters of chastisement correctly," Dumbledore chuckled briefly at that, "she has your best interests at heart… all your friends do."

"Don't shut them out Harry; they can be a great source of comfort if you let them." He added seriously.

Harry maintained a look of stoicism but he secretly marveled at the fact that Hermione would _dare_ scold the Headmaster. He found himself wondering what exactly it was she could be mad at him for… and what about Ron? Surely he needed to be trained as well, Voldemort would definitely try to get information from him too – it was common knowledge that he was his other best friend. His musings were interrupted once more when he felt Dumbledore's concerned gaze.

Harry rapidly became self-conscious of the fact that he hadn't showered, eaten, changed or slept properly in days and he looked every bit the worse for it. His appearance was in sharp contrast to his room because he hadn't bothered to unpack since his return and thus, with the exception of the desk that was now dust and the unmade bed, his room remained uncluttered and relatively clean.

He quickly brushed the uneasy feeling in his stomach away reasoning that it was his right to mourn in anyway he saw fit. He returned a defiant glare but Dumbledore just seemed pensive and spoke again.

"Allow me to allay your concern for Mr. Weasely, If I am not much mistaken; he is completely immune to Legilimency."

Harry was astonished to say the least; he left his mouth open after muttering a bewildered,

"What? But how…?"

"It seams that the attack on him by 'the brain' at the Ministry forced his mind to regroup into itself, to protect its 'self', as it were, against the foreign thoughts and emotions of the other." He answered gravely.

"So yes, he still has some emotional scarring but he will heal in time and because of this singular event his mind now as the innate capability to completely shield itself against any outside attack."

Harry couldn't look at Dumbledore anymore and dropped his gaze to the floor. The troubled feeling in his stomach returned when he realized that he had forgotten all about Ron's injury. He once more became so guilt stricken for almost getting his friends killed that his knees shook and he worried that he might collapse. He quickly sat hunched over onto the edge of his bed, buried his head in his hands and let out a growl of frustration before he took another ragged breath and exhaled slowly.

"So you've come here tonight to remind me of how stupid I was to drag my friends into a trap." Harry bluntly alleged.

Dumbledore let out a sigh and broke his gaze from Harry. He waved his wand around and conjured a plush chair. As he sat he returned his stare to the boy who had become a broken young man and it pained him greatly. He hoped it wasn't too late for save Harry from himself.

"Harry… your friends made a choice. Would you have allowed any one of them to go into a potentially dangerous situation without following?"

Harry didn't want to talk about it anymore. He knew Dumbledore would just twist the truth…somehow make him less to blame…

Harry stared intently at the blood droplets that were now black on the carpet floor and his shoulders drooped a little more in a sense of hopelessness. The cuts in his palm stung and he derived a sense of satisfaction from the pain. He felt it was the least of what he deserved.

He looked back up at Dumbledore and asked without expression,

"What else? You said that there was a matter of life or death?"

The Headmaster gave him a look of resignation and sighed once more not wanting to push the issue of the night at the Ministry.

"I see that you have not yet opened the letter from Gringotts. Perhaps you should do so now. What I'm about to ask of you wouldn't make sense otherwise." Dumbledore stated matter-of-factly as he nodded towards the pile of unopened letters on the floor.

_What did Gringotts have to do with life or death? _Harry wondered as he bent and picked up the shiny blue and gold wrapped envelope. It was addressed:

_**Mr. Harry Potter**_

_**Smallest Bedroom, Second floor**_

_**Number 4 Privet Drive**_

_**Little Whinging, Surrey**_

Harry turned the envelope around and broke the Gringotts wax seal then pulled out and unfolded the crisp brownish parchment. A sudden tingling sensation overcame his hands and just as quickly disappeared.

The parchment was blank. Harry was going to question this when words gradually appeared:

_**Identity verification complete…**_

_**Now decoding… **_

_Well that explained the weird feeling in my hands. I've never gotten a letter from Gringotts before. I suppose they all come that way? _He wondered.

_**Dear Mr. Potter,**_

**_We regret to inform you during your time of loss that your presence is required in the Department of Possessions, as mandated by law and the will of Sirius Black, to finalize the transference herein named:_**

_**Number 12 Grimmauld Place**_

_**Kings Cross, London**_

_**Contents therein**_

_**Black Family Vault #711**_

**_You have already been authorized access to said items. Please come in at your earliest convenience. Officer Glakkmer will be happy to assist you with the binding process and any other needs you may have._**

_**Signed,**_

_**Horad Wellsheild**_

_**President- Gringotts Council**_

Harry was astounded! He hadn't expected this at all. He re-read the letter in his shaking hands just to be sure of what it said. Sirius had left him everything! But he didn't want any of it… he only wanted his God-father back. He continued to sit and stared unblinking at the letter, no longer focused on it. He didn't know how to react or what to say. He just felt numb.

"Harry?" Dumbledore asked uncertainly.

"Yes Professor?" Harry slowly replied as he returned his gaze to Dumbledore.

"Your house has sealed itself and is waiting for its master. It won't allow anyone in without your permission and regretfully it can't be given here. You must physically enter the house and let your wishes be known."

"B-but I don't want the house! I don't ever want to go back there!" Harry sputtered.

"There's an old friend of yours still in that house that needs you Harry. If he's not seen soon I'm afraid he will die."

Harry rose quickly of the bed and stood yelling at Dumbledore once more.

"Kreacher's **not** my friend! He betrayed Sirius! He betrayed us all! Let him die! Better yet I'll kill him myself!"

When the Headmaster tried to speak Harry became so furious that he turned his back to him and faced the nightstand.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing! How could Dumbledore ever expect him to go back to Grimmauld Place, let alone save that wretched creature!

Dumbledore rose from his seat and tried to put a consoling hand on Harry's shoulder, but he pulled away as if Dumbledore's touch would have burned him.

The Headmaster lowered his hand in resignation and returned to his seat.

"Not Kreacher Harry - Buckbeak."

Harry's defiant stance relaxed in confusion.

"…Buckbeak?"

"As I've said, the house has not let any of us in since 'the night' at the Ministry. I have attempted on multiple occasions to gain access for the sole purpose of attending to him but I have yet to be successful. The house is quite ancient and powerful in its defenses. Many wards and protections have been placed on it through the times. That's one of the reasons we had chosen it as the Orders' headquarters last year. I assure you that I had no intention of asking you to return to it so soon, but under the circumstances… I know the house will harbor many ill memories, but your friend needs your saving once more."

Harry noticed that Dumbledore had avoided saying 'Sirius' death' and instead said 'the night', deep down he was grateful for it. It showed that though the Headmaster may not understand Harry's feelings, at least he was mindful of them. He turned to face Dumbledore.

"What am I to do?" Harry asked determinedly.

"Since I see that you are already dressed…" Harry shifted uncomfortably as Dumbledore gave him another concerned look.

"Grab your invisibility cloak and your wand – for safety."

Harry was slightly surprised to feel somewhat excited. _I'm finally doing **something**_, he thought as he slid his wand out from underneath his pillow and shoved it unceremoniously into the waistband of his jeans.

He quickly opened his school trunk and pulled out his invisibility cloak. He only paused once when he saw the tied mess of Uncle Vernon's old sock in the left hand corner. He remembered breaking the mirror Sirius had given him and placing the pieces into it. He suppressed another twinge of guilt and quickly closed the lid. He threw the cloak around his shoulders as the Headmaster stood and made his chair disappear.

Dumbledore then pulled an old box of _Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans_ out of one of his robe pockets, pointed his wand directly at it and whispered _'Portus'. _The box glowed blue then shook briefly, Harry recognized the Portkey spell.

Dumbledore returned his wand to his robe pocket and held the box up for Harry to reach it.

"Cover yourself completely and touch the corner of the box when you're ready Harry. Alastor, Nymphadora and Remus should have already secured the area and will meet us there."

Dumbledore was rather surprised when Harry walked up to him; he now stood eye to eye with the old Professor. He gave a slight grin as he fondly recalled just how young and wide-eyed Harry once seemed. _He's looking more and more like his Father…Time passes too quickly for the old_ he mused.

Harry made sure his invisibility cloak was wrapped around properly and touched the proffered corner of the box-made Portkey. He felt the all too familiar tug at his navel as the room began to swirl violently away.

6


	4. The New and Most Noble Manor of Potter

**Chapter 4**

**The New and Most Noble Manor of Potter**

Harry felt himself come to an abrupt stop on the front lawn of Number 12 Grimmauld Place and nearly fell forward on to his face before he caught himself.

"I'm never going to get used to that." Harry mumbled bitterly.

Dumbledore paused and took a moment to look around.

"It's OK Harry, you can remove the cloak if you like, the area is clear."

Harry uncovered his head and started to unclasp his cloak but stopped when he felt a tingling sensation and the hair on his neck rise. It was a very peculiar impression that he vaguely recalled having once before during his fourth year. It caused him to instinctively draw his wand and take in as much detail as he could of his surroundings.

Night was everywhere. The streetlamps were out and the only visible light emanated from the stars in the sky.

Dumbledore began to stroll purposefully towards the front door with Harry in step behind him. The sensation of unease didn't leave Harry and he felt a strong urge to turn around and face the street.

He observed an older woman in dark grey robes walking swiftly towards them. Harry thought she looked very much like Professor McGonagall but he felt sure that she wasn't. Dumbledore didn't seem to pay attention to her at all. She was only a few feet away from them when Harry noticed that the woman had her wand out. She stopped abruptly just a few feet away when Harry pointed his directly at her.

"Wotcher Harry! What happened to the rest of ya? Did you finally blow your buttocks off?" The Professor look-a-like questioned with a wink and a smirk.

"Tonks…" he was just about reply when he observed a slight shimmering of pearl like colors in the shape of a person coming towards them a few feet to the right side of her. Harry then moved his wand from Tonks to the lights.

The lights also immediately stopped their forward motion. He stared intently at the dim sparkling lights and was astonished to see that they were shaped just like a cloak. At the top he saw a tighter ball of light emanating where a persons left eye should be and swore he could also see a wide very light bluish beam coming from the 'eye' of light. The beam appeared to have focused itself onto Harry.

"Very good boy! You are getting stronger after all – I was afraid you'd be a bit… well… Obviously Dumbledore was right." The cloak of light stated gruffly in slight surprise.

"Professor Moody?" Harry wondered what on earth the old Auror had done to himself to end up in such a state.

"Wow Harry, I didn't know you could see through invisibility cloaks! I'm impressed!" The old woman – Tonks exclaimed with enthusiasm.

Harry was dumbfounded. He didn't know he could either…

"Yeah, he's getting mighty strong alright but he's still an idiot." The still shimmering Moody stated matter-of-factly, "How many times do I have to tell you that I didn't do much teachin'?"

"Don't mind the old man there Harry, he's just embarrassed he got caught with his pants down. Constant Vigilance eh?" kidded an amused Tonks.

"Don't remind me - my damn eyeball still sticks every now and then, just hasn't been the same since." Moody complained as he removed his cloak.

Harry was surprised to see that Moody's cloak still shimmered with opalescent colored lights as it draped over his arm and his magical eye still glowed with its blue beam and wondered why he hadn't seen it before.

"Good to see you alive and well boy."

Moody stepped forward and Harry shook his gnarled hand. He looked pretty much the same as Harry remembered; grizzled hair, chunks missing from his nose, beady right eye and a clawed wooden leg that thumped with every other step as he strolled to the front door and began whispering to Dumbledore in earnest.

"Right, Mr. Cheerful himself… It is good to see you again Harry."

Tonks turned back into her bright pink spiky haired self and gave Harry a quick hug. She then pulled away and looked directly at him with a hint of concern.

Harry averted his eyes feeling uncomfortable under her scrutiny and removed the rest of his cloak. She was just about to say something more until he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to find a very ragged looking Lupin with a small smile.

"Hello Harry, I see you look about as good as I feel."

Harry hoped he didn't look **that** bad, Lupin looked terrible! He had large dark circles under his eyes; his hair was a mess and if he appeared older before, then now he would be considered ancient. He was obviously having just as hard a time as Harry was with Sirius' death.

'_Of course, he's the last of the three friends… the last **true** Marauder…' _Harry didn't know what to say. It hurt him to see Lupin in such a state.

"Come on Harry, let's go inside."

Lupin let go of Harry's shoulder and closed the distance to the large front doors as Harry and Tonks followed.

Moody and Dumbledore had apparently finished whatever discussion they were having when they arrived.

"Just turn the handle and step inside if you please Harry." Dumbledore stated as he and Moody stepped out of the way.

Harry braced himself, not knowing what to expect, and grasped the serpentine handle. He felt nothing out of the ordinary so he turned the knob and crossed the threshold, stepping into what was total darkness. Once he fully entered his new house however, the torch lamps that lined the walls and the hanging chandelier came immediately to life.

The portrait of Mrs. Black was still covered by shabby drapes and the entrance remained as gloomy as ever.

"May we enter?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry turned to see that everyone else was still outside on the doorstep.

"Oh… yes, err… of course come in."

Harry stepped further into the entryway and made a sweeping gesture with his hand.

Dumbledore, Moody, Lupin and Tonks walked into the main entrance of the home with Tonks whispering with a wink;

"What a gentleman!"

Harry was about to ask what he should do next when Dumbledore spoke softly;

"Not here Harry, we'll talk in the kitchen."

They passed the portrait and the troll legged umbrella stand and followed the steps down to the main kitchen, which smelled dank and musty. The lamps were already on so they all took seats around the large rectangular table.

Dumbledore gave his wand a few waves and several mugs full of steaming tea and hot chocolate appeared on the middle of the table.

"Help yourselves please."

Every one with the exception of Harry grabbed a cup. He had a strong feeling of unease in the pit of his stomach as he recalled quite vividly the fight Sirius had with Snape in this very room. Harry shook his head in an attempt to empty it.

Dumbledore next conjured a sack whose contents smelled suspiciously of raw meat, and seeing that Harry had chosen not to get anything to drink, set it in front of him. He then cleared his throat and spoke after he had everyone's attention.

"Harry, I would ask that you return to us here once you have seen to Buckbeak. We can discuss our various courses of action and our plans without hindrance then."

Harry suspected that they also wanted to talk about him amongst themselves. He was in half a mind not to give them the satisfaction, but the thought of a starving Buckbeak made him take the sack and silently rise. Once he had gotten to the kitchen door he paused and turned.

"What about Kreacher? If I see him I **will** kill him." Harry stated firmly, looking directly at Dumbledore.

Moody's real eye narrowed as his magical eye swiveled towards Dumbledore, Lupin gave a slight shiver but did not look up from his mug and Tonks gasped.

"Kreacher is no longer here Harry." Dumbledore answered - his face an unreadable mask.

"As this is now your house, he is no longer bound to it. I'm afraid he now serves Narcissa Malfoy and her family."

Harry nodded and left the kitchen closing the door behind him. He turned and walked up the stairs past the second floor landing where the heads of the previous house-elves resided and past a couple of half-closed doors that were once his and Ron's and Hermione's and Ginny's.

He passed a couple more doors before reaching the old bedroom near the end of the hall that once was Mrs. Black's. He grabbed the handle and prepared for the worst as he opened the bedroom door and entered.

Harry quickly raised the crook of his arm and covered his nose to stop the assault of stench that had struck him. He looked around the room to find droppings on one side and the skeletal remains of rats and ferrets strewn all over the hay covered floor.

Buckbeak gave a loud squawk of greeting and stood up as Harry approached.

"Sorry it took me so long to see you boy, I bet you're starved." He quietly said as he gently stroked the side of the large half-eagle half-horse like creature.

Buckbeak was clearly in need of companionship. Even in the dim light, Harry could see patches of fur and feathers missing and he definitely looked a lot thinner and in need of exercise. He didn't look nearly as impressive as he had that night he and Hermione had ridden him to save Sirius.

"Hermione would go spare if she saw you like this. Thank goodness she's not here." Harry muttered absent-mindedly as he opened the bag of food and began dropping the large chunks of meat onto the floor.

He was relieved to see Buckbeak eating in earnest and it brought a small smile to his face to see his friend enjoying his meal.

"Let's get some of these windows open shall we?"

After opening several windows, Harry gave Buckbeak a quick pat and another promise to tidy up the room upon his return and left.

Harry quietly closed the door behind him and chanced a look to his right towards the end of the hallway where Sirius' bedroom once was and gave a start of surprise. The door stood slightly ajar and he could see a warm flickering glow emanating within.

"Sirius?" Harry whispered, not daring to believe his eyes.

He felt certain that the light was not there before but he was preoccupied when he first got up to the second floor. He slowly crept to the entrance of the bedroom and pushed the door fully open. What he saw gave him another surprise.

The first thing Harry noticed was the mixed scent of freshly laundered clothes and paint. He took another deep breath just to be sure and tried to take everything in at once. The room was huge and **completely** different than what he'd seen of the rest of the house so far.

The wooden floor looked polished and clean, the walls were Gryffindor red with golden accents- just as all the furniture appeared to be, and the glow came from the large roaring fire place to the right of the entrance.

In front of the fire sat an oval coffee table and in front of that sat a twin sofa. To the right and up against the wall was a hefty bookcase full of both old and new books. Up against the back wall and in between two night stands lay a King sized four-poster with a chest larger than the coffee table at the foot.

To his left sat another open door which led to a bathroom. In it contained a Roman bathtub, a separate shower, toilet and two sinks. There were brightly colored dials everywhere and it reminded Harry of the prefects' bathroom back at Hogwarts.

Before he could take in the rest of the room he heard a tired mans voice calling to him from the bedroom entrance.

"I see that you've found Sirius' surprise." Lupin said standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.

"What do you mean?" responded Harry puzzled, turning to face Lupin from across the room.

"Look about you Harry. He made this room for you, he promised you a home. He didn't want you to live in the same dreary house he had so he decided to fix the place up a bit and wanted to start with your room first. He had hoped to finish the rest of the rooms for your friends by the summer but…" he trailed off looking towards the fire.

"He–he did this for me?" Harry asked - gazing around stunned that Sirius had gone through so much trouble for him.

"Well, I helped a little, but it was his idea to brighten the place up," Lupin paused for a second, "and after hearing about your room at your relatives, he wanted you to have the biggest room in the house with the nicest things he could find. He wanted to make sure you'd **want **to stay here."

"I-I don't know what to say…" Harry stammered.

"Sirius loved you Harry. I knew him a lot longer than you. We were friends and brothers. I know he went the way he wanted to. What I don't know is how much longer he could have stayed trapped in this house regardless of what he was doing to improve it."

"He died because of me." Harry whispered, dropping his head as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Lupin sat next to Harry and they sat in silence for a minute before Lupin spoke again, this time with greater intensity and his voice shook of emotion;

"Listen to me Harry, if there is one thing I've learned in life-then it's to live. Not breathing, eating and sleeping, but truly **living**. So many people go about their daily lives following one routine or another, not really paying attention to those around them and taking all their friends and family for granted- as if they'd live forever. That's not living Harry. Sirius knew how to live. He appreciated every single moment he got to be with you, his best friends' son, and he relished and looked forward to it because he knew time was short. It always was when Voldemort was around. You'd be talking to your best mate one day and in the next the dark mark would appear above their house, and that's it Harry. All you ever had was the time you got to spend with them and then it's gone and you can never get it back."

Lupin paused once more and gripped Harry shoulder, though Harry refused to meet his eyes, and then continued;

"Sirius learned this lesson almost fifteen years ago and it nearly destroyed him. I know that he wouldn't want you to suffer the same way he did. He would want you to only remember the best about him and the times you got to spend together. The fact that you knew he was innocent and accepted him as your God-father made him the happiest person in the world Harry. Don't ever forget that."

Lupin took a loud breathe and sighed.

"He'd want you to **live** Harry, not just exist, but live. Take his lesson and cherish those around you because you just don't know…"

Harry sat motionless deep in thought. It made some sense he guessed, but the hole left in his heart by his God-fathers death remained as large as it ever did. It was still his fault he knew, and that didn't make him feel any better.

'_Live? How can I possibly live when Sirius is dead?'_ Harry tried desperately to suppress the well of guilt from growing in his chest and, while continuing to stare at the floor, forced himself to say out loud;

"Thanks, I'll try."

"I'll do my best to be here for you Harry… if you need me."

And with that, Lupin released his shoulder and walked out of the room; leaving Harry to sit and ponder what had just been said.

A/N: I wish to thank you all for taking the time to write such wonderful reviews! I truly enjoy reading them and am encouraged by them to continue.

I would like to also apologize for any errors in grammar and spelling, I have no beta and I am writing as fast as my little free time will allow.

6


	5. An Elf, a Coat and a Cat

**Chapter 5**

**An Elf, a Coat and a Cat**

Harry was unsure of how long he had sat alone with his thoughts, but however long it was, he felt sure it was enough. He removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes and ran his hands through his unruly hair several times before finally getting up and heading out of his new room.

_'Maybe I'll finally get to leave the Dursley's.' _ Harry mused as he walked down the hall. _'I can just imagine the look on Uncle Vernon's face when I tell him I've got a house of my own…'_

A sudden banging noise from within one of the rooms to his right startled Harry out of his reprieve. He remained still until he heard more noises from behind one of the closed doors and discovered that they were coming from within the room that Hermione and Ginny had used during their visits the past year.

He crept as silently as he could and placed one ear on the door. It sounded as if someone were sweeping the floor and moving furniture around.

_'That's odd.'_ Harry thought as he moved his ear away and cautiously pushed the door open peering inside.

It seemed to Harry that the night would be full of surprises and he should definitely get used to seeing them before long, but to say he was taken back would be an understatement.

Standing in the middle of the medium sized room with his back to Harry and waving long fingers about the air as if conducting an orchestra was a house-elf. In between long pointed ears he wore several small hats perched upon each other atop his head. On his feet - one black sock with orange pumpkins and white ghosts traveling up and down its length and one dirty grayish looking thing that was clearly too large for the elf as it had fallen to a skinny ankle. And in place of a Hogwarts uniform he wore what appeared to be a bright velvety crimson colored pillow case with gold trim that matched the ones in Harry's new bedroom.

The house-elf had obviously sensed a presence because he quickly turned around, shrieked and ran forward to hug the lower half of Harry's body.

"Master-friend Harry Potter sir!" Dobby exclaimed whilst looking up with overly large eyes.

He then quickly let Harry go and pointed one long finger upwards, waving it back and forth as he placed his other hand firmly on his hip much - like a mother scolding her child would, "You is not to be in this room till Dobby has finished with it!"

"But Dobby… what are you doing here?" Harry stumbled with a bewildered expression as he scanned the room.

Two brooms swept opposite corners as a giant mop busily washed the middle of the floor. Twin beds, two dressers and a couple of nightstands were pressed up against a giant wardrobe on the far side of the room.

"Dobby has chosen to serve Harry potter and his family sir!" Dobby exclaimed as he held his head high and pulled the bottoms of his new pillow case so that he wore it taught in proud display.

"But Dobby I don't need a servant…" Harry began but was quickly rebuffed.

"Master does not **need** a servant?" Dobby asked incredulously spreading his long arms and waving them about the room, "Masters house is messy! There is lots of cleaning that needs to be doing! Who's doing cooking? Who's taking care of Harry Potters' family? Of Masters home?"

Dobby rested his hands on his hips and began to breathe faster than Harry liked. He began to worry that if Dobby didn't soon calm down he would hyperventilate and pass out.

"I didn't mean to upset you Dobby – It's just that you're my friend! I couldn't possibly ask you to be my servant! What about your freedom?" Harry implored hurriedly before Dobby could cut him off again.

Dobby clasped his hands together and drew them up to a wild grin. His eyes grew wider as he cried;

"Master Harry Potter sir is truly the greatest wizard! Dobby is honored to be called friend by his Master! You is in need of serving and I is choosing to serve! See? I **is** choosing! Master has taught Dobby years ago he can be choosing so he is!"

Harry once again was at a loss for words so he simply stood and stared at the hopeful expression on Dobby's face. He didn't want to upset him, and it seemed that Dobby was pretty determined to stay.

Wanting to avoid any hard feelings Harry gave in and said with as much authority as he could muster;

"All right Dobby – but you are **not **my servant. You will continue to be paid twice whatever Professor Dumbledore was paying you back at Hogwarts."

If it were possible, Dobby's eyes became even wider.

"That is paying too much Master Harry Potter sir! What is Dobby going to be doing with such?" he supposed in wonderment.

The look on the house-elf's face gave Harry a small smile as he replied;

"It's your **choice** Dobby," and then as an after-thought he added, "and please stop calling me _'Master'_ or I'll fire you."

Harry knelt and, looking straight into Dobby's eyes, proffered his right hand for a hand-shake.

Dobby, still unsure of himself, hesitated only a second before grasping Harry's hand and shaking it with an embarrassed smile.

"By the way Dobby, how did you get into this house? I thought you needed my permission first."

"Dobby is a house-elf sir." He shrugged, as if that explained everything.

"I see…" said Harry, though he was certain he didn't see at all and wasn't about to confess it.

Somewhat satisfied, Harry rose and surveyed the room yet again, not failing to note that the brooms and mop had not stopped their cleaning before turning to leave once more for the kitchen.

When he got to the door Dobby called out causing him to turn back around and give a questioning look.

"Dobby is almost forgetting Harry Potter sir!"

Harry watched as Dobby sprinted to the wardrobe and pulled out a small feminine looking tan coat with faux-fur lining. He quickly ran to Harry and pushed it into his hands.

"This is Mas - I means Harry Potter's girlfriends' sir!" Dobby emphatically stated.

_'Girlfriend?'_ thought Harry. He looked closely at the jacket and immediately recognized it as the one Hermione wore when she 'convinced' him to leave Buckbeak's room last Christmas; apparently she had left it behind in her haste to leave at the end of the holiday.

"Dobby, Hermione's not my girlfriend - She's my best **friend**."

Dobby looked at Harry as if he had just proclaimed that the Loch-Ness Monster had asked him to tea and biscuits.

"Dobby is very busy and Master's friends are waiting!" Dobby managed to proclaim before turning Harry around and pushing him out the door.

Harry felt the door close roughly behind him and he wondered what on earth had gotten into his house-elf friend.

He looked down at the soft jacket and decided he would hold on to it until he saw Hermione as he made his way back down the stairs.

He stopped half-way down when the hair on the back of his neck rose and he experienced the same sensations he had when he _'felt'_ Moody's presence earlier outside. He looked in the general direction of where the kitchen should be, in the lower level and through the wall past the grand entryway on his right, and was pleased to see the familiar light blue 'beam' coming through the wall and resting on himself.

Harry felt his temper rise when he realized that privacy was something he was going to lack as long as Moody was around. He had the sudden inspiration to see if could do something about it.

He focused his mind on the beam for a long moment until he could feel the energy of it. He focused on the light until he could see the tiniest of waves and sparkles, appearing very much like shiny pearls in glowing water.

He was quite startled when he suddenly heard Moody's gravely voice in his head.

"The boy's caught me looking Dumbledore."

"Interesting indeed." replied the Head-Master.

Harry swore he heard Dumbledore's response through Moody. _'This is too weird.'_ He thought.

"Go on Harry, keep focusing." Dumbledore said.

"You mean he can hear us too?" gasped Tonks.

"Through Alastor he can - at this moment – yes." Dumbledore replied.

"Oh." He heard Tonks say as Moody growled.

Harry closed his eyes and focused on the sensations of the light blue beam. He concentrated on the tingling and attempted to suppress them. Slowly they began to fade and soon he couldn't feel them at all.

He opened his eyes to find the beam wildly searching about the stairs as Moody calmly said;

"I've lost him. I don't see him at all."

Harry couldn't help but grin at what he had just accomplished. He was amazed and elated as he strolled into the kitchen amongst Moody's scowl; Tonks look of amazement, Lupin's smile and Dumbledore's praise.

"Excellent Harry, well done! Now is definitely the time to discuss your training schedule. Please have a seat."

"Training schedule?" Harry asked as he sat carefully folding Hermione's coat and setting it atop his cloak on the seat next to him.

"Yes Harry, but not just yours. I thought it wise to include your friends as well, though I must warn you - your schedule will be particularly grueling."

Harry nodded. _'Finally!'_ he thought.

"Very well; Alastor, Remus, Kingsley and Professor's McGonagall and Flitwick have all graciously volunteered to work with you on varying days – I also will be training you myself of course." Dumbledore said as he stared at Harry over his half-moon glasses.

Harry nodded once more but this time acknowledging both Moody and Lupin, as both nodded in return.

"As I mentioned earlier, Grimmauld Place has had many wards and protections set in place during its occupation by the Black family. It is no secret that they practiced the 'dark' arts. I had long suspected that the house would shield it's occupants from the prying eyes of the Ministry, that is, all sorts of illegal magic, including underage magic, could be practiced here - untraceable. My suspicions were confirmed when Sirius informed me that his parents gave him lessons in a specialized training room in the basement level of this house. His parent's intention, naturally, was to give him a 'leg up' as it were, so that he would easily excel in his classes when he was ready to attend Hogwarts. Remus has located this room and I believe it will meet our needs."

"You mean I'm going to train here?" Asked Harry perplexed. "I can do magic in this house?"

"Yes Harry - you can and should. You will need to practice as much as possible. The return of Voldemort dictates that we make haste. It is imperative that we do everything necessary to prepare you, for his attack is certain."

"You're not alone in this Harry." Lupin said with certainty. "I don't know what's with you in particular, but we're going to fight him together."

Tonks and Moody nodded in agreement.

Harry locked eyes with Dumbledore for a brief moment as he thought _'they have no idea what the prophecy said do they?'_

Dumbledore gave the slightest shake of his bearded head for an answer then asked;

"Do you have any questions for us Harry?"

"Well…" Harry began as he looked up deep in thought to find a spider spinning its web in a ceiling corner, "what's going on with Voldemort? Where is he and what is he doing? Are the Death Eaters that you captured still in Azkaban? What is the Order doing and where have they been meeting if not here? When does my training start and what will I be studying? How much longer do I have to live with the Dursley's? How soon can I visit the Burrow? How come I can feel and see all these funny things now when before I couldn't?"

"Jeez Harry! And all in one breathe too, I'm impressed!" teased Tonks from the opposite side of the table.

When she saw the glare Moody had given with both his real and magical eye from next to her, she quickly amended;

"Just trying to lighten the mood is all! Sheesh you're **moody**!" Tonks stated as she turned from Moody's continued stare and lifted her left hand to shield her face from him before flashing Harry a another grin and a wink.

"I saw that you know!" Moody grunted.

"Damn eye! If you weren't so old and decrepit I'd be concerned!" retorted Tonks.

"Decrepit?" questioned Moody - as his face had been so deformed from years of curses, it was now contorted with what Harry assumed to be incredulity, had the image not been frightening, he would have laughed.

Dumbledore amusedly cleared his throat and began speaking once he had everyone's attention.

"Ok Harry, I will answer as much as I can and in some semblance of order. First, we do not know where Voldemort is, though we suspect he is still in the country. We do know however, that he intends to rescue the Death Eaters who are currently imprisoned in Azkaban and renew his efforts to obtain some sort of 'weapon' that I believe still resides in the Department of Mysteries. We are also certain that he has made some sort of an alliance with the giants, has recruited foreign dark practitioners, including vampires, and is currently in talks with the centaurs. Second, the Order is continuing to monitor any unusual activity within the Ministry as well as any unexplained disappearances of both wizard and muggle alike. On that account, nothing has stood out thus far. As for the Order, we have been meeting haphazardly here and there. We cannot meet at Hogwarts for obvious political reasons nor did I wish to intrude upon the family members of any in the Order as it would unwittingly endanger them as well."

"Why don't you continue to meet here? I don't have a problem with that." Harry interrupted, causing Dumbledore to smile proudly.

"Thank you Harry, but as I said I didn't wish to intrude…"

"But it's alright Professor. Won't it make it that much easier for all the training if the Order members were already here or due to be here?" Harry questioned. It would be easier Harry reasoned, especially since he was afraid to be left out of the loop again.

"Thank you Harry, this is most generous of you." Dumbledore replied with a small bow of his head.

"Don't mention it." waved Harry. What else was he going to do with this place anyway? He then crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair allowing Dumbledore to continue.

"Third, your training regimen will be difficult and draining at best. You will be studying some theory but performing practical application mostly. Your power resides in the strength of will, and we will be working on that more than anything else. I am presently in communication with someone whom I believe can instruct you in wand-less magic, as I am no means an expert on the subject. This is one area in which Voldemort far surpasses me and I wish you to have the utmost education on this subject in particular. Nonetheless, Alastor will provide Auror training, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick will provide instruction on advanced transfiguration and dueling, respectively, and Remus will provide further tutoring on all the subjects we will cover."

"What will you be teaching me?" asked Harry, curious and excited at the prospect of be taught by Dumbledore himself.

The Head-Master's enigmatic smile returned as he answered.

"I won't speak of it here, but I can give surety that you will be far from disappointed."

Harry hoped Dumbledore would elaborate but realized he wouldn't as he continued to answer Harry's earlier questions.

"Fourth, you must remain at your relatives until your Birthday." Dumbledore raised his hand to stop Harry before he could protest, then continued "I'm sorry Harry, but that is how the protective magic works – not even I can change that. As for the Burrow, I'd rather you stay here in your own house simply to accommodate your training schedule, but I do not begrudge you a visit every now and then – you will need a break."

"Thanks." Harry muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

"And finally, the reason for your sudden outburst of talents may be summed up in one word – puberty, and I am most certain you will find that some 'funny' feelings can be quite profound."

Dumbledore shook his head slightly and smiled at the table while Tonk's cheeks flushed and Lupin shifted uncomfortably in his seat, hands and eyes glued to his empty mug. Moody seamed completely oblivious and appeared to have understood as much as Harry had – nothing.

Harry scrunched up his nose as he tried to understand just how a funny feeling could be profound when Dumbledore rose and announced that it was well past time to leave.

"We will return tomorrow evening to begin your training and to tend to Buckbeak Harry." He said while everyone else stood and prepared to leave.

The Head-Master then pulled out the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans from his robe pocket and handed it to Harry.

"When you're ready it will return you to the bedroom in your Aunts house. Keep it on you, it will activate once more tomorrow at 4Pm, bringing you directly here in this kitchen where both Alastor and Remus will meet you. Dobby will allow them entry, he knows your wishes. I will see you next week, sooner if there is news. Take care Harry, call for Fawkes if you need anything." And with that Dumbledore walked over to the giant fireplace on the far side of the kitchen, lit it, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from the jar on top of the mantle, stepped inside and yelled "My office!" and with a swoosh of brilliant green flames, disappeared.

Call for Fawkes? How was he supposed to do that?

"I'll see you tomorrow boy. Be ready." Moody grunted as he pulled on his invisibility cloak.

The shimmering opalescent colors came in to view once more as Moody exited the kitchen and out the front doors of the house. Now that Harry thought about it, he couldn't actually see through Moody's cloak, he could just see that it was there, well that and the eye he supposed. He'd have to look that one up.

"Good bye Harry, I'll try to see you some time this week Ok? My shift is going to start soon and I better get to the office before all the coffee's gone." Tonks giggled as she formally shook Harry's hand. She too left by Floo yelling "Ministry Headquarters!"

"Alright Harry, you'd better go first, I can see my self out." said Lupin as he again placed a fatherly hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry really took the time to take in Lupin's appearance now that he had more light than when they had first met outside and became immediately alarmed by what he saw. He **did** look terrible! The whites of his gray eyes were blood-shot and had large dark circles underneath them. His hair was disheveled and the unshaven hair on his face stood out significantly against his overly pale skin. His robes looked even shabbier than usual and Harry could see that Lupin had lost some weight.

"I have been much worse." Lupin said with a slight smile.

Harry wasn't convinced and was struck by an idea.

"Why don't you stay here and help me with the house? There's so much still that needs to be done and I'm not really all that sure what Sirius' plans were for the rest of the house…"

Lupin gave Harry a side-ways look and responded;

"You have Dobby to do that, you don't need me."

"Yes he'll clean up the place but I won't be here most of the next couple of years. You know this place better than anyone else; there are all kinds of rooms and things that need sorting. I don't know what half the stuff in this house does! I'm sure some of them are even dangerous!"

"I don't know Harry; I don't want to be a burden…" Lupin answered looking down at his shoes.

"Are you crazy?" Harry almost yelled. "Dumbledore told you to tutor me! How are you supposed to do that if you're not here? You said that you'd be there for me if I needed you – well I need you to stay here and not only help me look after this gargantuan place but also help me to defeat Voldemort." He finished emphatically.

Lupin returned his gaze upon Harry and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"You say that like you're the only one that can beat him."

"You know what I mean!" Said Harry hurriedly, "so will you stay?"

Lupin's stance relaxed and he stuck out his right hand grinning broadly.

"Alright, it's a deal for now then."

As soon as Harry reached for Lupin's hand, Lupin pulled him into a fierce hug and after a brief moment let go.

"You'd better get going Harry, It's going to be dawn soon and I need my beauty rest."

Relief washed over Harry knowing that Lupin would be well sheltered and cared to by Dobby as he grabbed his invisibility cloak and Hermione's jacket off the chair and draped them both over his left arm. He was just about to activate the port-key when he heard Lupin speak.

"Thanks Harry. I know what you're doing… and I appreciate it." He said sincerely.

Harry gave Lupin his best Weasley twin impression of _'you can't prove that we owl-posted **that** bit of pixy dung!'_ and said "I don't know what you're talking about!", and then disappeared.

Harry didn't realize how tired he was until he reappeared into his old bedroom. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand and saw that it was just past six in the morning. Hazy sunlight was already creeping through his bedroom window so he pulled down the shades and tossed his cloak across the room and onto his trunk.

He then threw himself onto the bed before realizing that he still held Hermione's coat, but he thought he'd just rest his eyes for a second and put her jacket on the chair in a minute or two…

Harry lay in the softest bed he had ever been on in his life. He was incredibly comfortable and warm and he didn't ever want to get up. He rolled over to his side and something tickled his nose. A mixture of the most wonderful concoction of scents wafted into Harry's nostrils; vanilla, nutmeg, cloves and lavender, strangely recognizable and both calming and exciting at the same time. He couldn't explain it, he just knew he never wanted to leave this bed, never wanted to stop the tender and enticing feelings that were stirring from someplace deep within his soul.

He could hear a distant door bell ring as his nose was tickled once more by something fuzzy. Familiar voices could now be heard muffled as he snuggled his face against the warm fuzziness still tickling his nose. Knocking could be heard now and someone was calling his name.

"Harry! Get up! You have a visitor!" Aunt Petunia yelled through the door.

"Go away!" Harry half yelled in his dream like state.

"I told you he didn't want company!" He heard his Aunt say as her footsteps echoed back down the stairs.

"Harry are you Ok? Harry please open the door!" came a girls voice followed by more knocking.

"What the…?" Harry exclaimed as he opened his eyes to see that he had buried his face into the faux fur lined hood of Hermione's jacket and jumped immediately awake.

"Harry?" came the girl's voice again.

"Hold on!" Harry yelled as he kicked the covers that he had somehow gotten under and sat bolt upright on the edge of his bed. He looked down on to the bed and noticed Hermione's coat had gotten completely wrinkled and didn't look nearly as nice as when he had first gotten it from Dobby.

'_I can't give that back to her looking like that!'_ Harry thought as he hastily tried to cover it with his bed sheets and then ran to the door, throwing it open.

With her hair pulled back into a loose bun and dressed casually in pair of light blue jeans and a white blouse stood a worried looking Hermione Jane Granger with Crookshanks in her arms.

"Hermione… what are you doing here?" asked Harry perplexed, still holding the door.

"Well…" stammered Hermione whose hand shook as she petted her cat, "you haven't answered any of my letters and I really needed you to look after Crookshanks for me because my parents are taking me to France for a couple of weeks and I can't take him with us. I couldn't ask Ron because you know how they don't get along and I didn't feel comfortable leaving him with anyone else. So I asked my parents to bring me here so I could drop him off, they said I could stay for about an hour - because they have a last minute errand to run, if that's Ok with you, and Kingsley's down stairs running interference for me, since Dumbledore insisted that he accompany us to the airport anyway. And how come you haven't written back to me? Not that you could these past few days as Hedwig has been staying with me, it's been a blessing really as my Mom has been using her for errands, she seems quite happy actually. And… oh Harry I was so worried at first when I didn't hear from you!" Hermione finished completely winded.

She dropped an unexpected Crookshanks (who hissed indignantly as he ran past and jumped onto Harry's bed), and threw herself into Harry nearly knocking him flat, squeezing him until he could hardly breath.

Harry tried desperately to steady himself by leaning into Hermione's embrace; hints of vanilla, ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin (and mince pies?) assaulted his senses once more as he felt a commanding rush of warmth radiate from his core and his stomach growled hungrily.

He then remembered that he hadn't eaten properly in days and subsequently couldn't recall a word she had just said… something important… something about… Crookshanks?

9


	6. Secrets and Serpents

**Chapter 6**

**Secrets and Serpents**

The room was surprisingly bright and well lit from the large fire burning in the corner. There in the center, facing the only entrance, on top of an old worn rug sat an even older looking arm chair, and in that – a tall and thin man whose pale skin stood in stark contrast to his midnight colored robes. His long bony fingers grasped a Yew wand and his laterally slit pupils focused on the cowering figure prostrating itself before him as if expecting to be struck by a venomous serpent at any moment.

"Well?" hissed the high pitched voice, dark and snake-like.

The cloaked figure shivered as he continued to kneel with his head bowed, concealed in the darkness of his hood.

"Dumbledore does not trust me my Lord. I feel he suspects…" whimpered the voice.

"Silence!" yelled Lord Voldemort, "I did not ask you to report on what I already know."

"Y-yes my Lord, o-of course not…"

"I did not expect the old fool to tell you where the boy lived. You are a master Legilimens are you not? I would have suspected that this bit of information would be easily found by the likes of you… how disappointing." He sneered.

"B-but my Lord, the protections on the place…" The figure began.

Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at the hapless person.

"Crucio!" he yelled.

The figure was immediately thrown backwards onto the wooden floor and began to roll about violently kicking up dust and arching his back in a most unnatural way. The final spasm resulted in a loud 'cracking' sound as one arm twisted so awkwardly that the bone broke.

"M-master… p-please!" it begged in half a scream.

"I told you not to tell me what I already know." Voldemort reiterated as he pointed his wand up and away. "I know I cannot enter the house… but that does not mean that my most faithful cannot also…"

The figure drew ragged breathes and tried to return to a kneeling position but was doing so with great difficulty as he supported his one limp arm with the other.

"Y-yes my Lord, I have discovered the home of Potters' blood relatives." The voice came shaking, "A-and I have had the home watched, I can report on their habits so that you may choose the best time to strike."

"Good - and his friends? What can you tell me about them?" questioned the Dark Lord as he mindlessly twirled his wand in-between long fingers.

"We know the locations of the five," the figure breathed "and aside from the broadly defended home of the Weasleys' fathers', only one person seems to be heavily guarded and she is set to leave the country as we speak."

"Yessss – I know of this one. She is the _red_… she is an abomination and shall be dealt with accordingly." Voldemort coldly declared as he narrowed his eyes in thought.

The ensuing silence became deathly uncomfortable for the figure and he spoke once more to break the stillness that had engulfed the room.

"M-master… t-the 'red'?" he hesitantly asked.

The dark lord contemplated this question for a few moments before answering,

"Alchemy – it is beyond your understanding for me to explain this to you." Then, almost in a whisper and as if talking to himself he added, "suffice it to say that when polar essences merge they tend to form a newer, more powerful body, and when meddled with become extraordinarily dangerous and volatile."

Voldemorts' vision abruptly returned to the cowering figure before him.

"Master, I have also discovered that Dumbledore has contacted an Unspeakable." the figure added as it had just occurred to him; clearly not understanding the Dark Lords' explanation and wishing to change the subject.

"An Unspeakable?" he asked - not the least bit surprised, "Curious indeed… This must mean that our young friend is undeniably progressing."

"But Master… shouldn't the Potter boy be killed before he gets much stronger?" the figure questioned, stunned that the Dark Lord would state such a fact and not be angry about it.

Voldemorts' snake like pupils narrowed and focused upon the figure once more as he jerked his wand to the right in one swift motion and pointing it at the far wall.

The figure let out a yelp as if a troll had struck him with its club and was pulled forcibly from the floor and thrown up against the wall with a loud crash. And as the Dark Lord released his spell, the figure collapsed into a heap with the sickening sounds of more broken bones, moaning on the floor.

Voldemort realized immediately that he should not have lost his temper so. It will be difficult for his servant to explain away his injuries let alone perform the tasks that he had been asked of. But the Dark Lord couldn't help the fact that his Death Eaters had failed miserably to obtain the key to Harry's death. It wasn't the "weapon" he knew, but it was definitely the key. That's why Dumbledore went to such great lengths to protect it, and now half his faithful were locked away and heavily guarded in Azkaban; though for not much longer he mused.

'_Yes, the meddlesome old fool unquestionably knows what had been prophesized. He obviously failed to inform the boy; otherwise he surely would have suspected my intentions.' _

He knew that Snape had been giving the boy Occlumency lessons and that he was not progressing well at all.

'_Well, I didn't at first either.'_ He briefly reflected. _'Perhaps it's time to send another message…a test.'_

"Wormtail!"

The entrance door slowly opened and another hooded figure dressed in black robes and walking hesitantly into the room with a slightly hunched over gait; Pettigrew stopped within a few feet of his Master.

"Y-yes Master?" came Wormtails' frightened and squeaky voice.

"You are certain that the homes defenses can be breached?" Voldemort threatened as he narrowed his eyes at the shaking coward in front of him.

"Yes my Lord! I have spent over ten years studying its weakness'!" Pettigrew responded as confidently as he dared.

"Good, then I have a task for you Wormtail… do you think you're capable?"

"Yes of course my Lord!" Pettigrew responded quickly.

"You sound too happy… perhaps you wish to be away from me, for your own purposes?" Voldemort hissed.

"N-no Master!! I only wish to do as you ask!" He answered as if pleading for his life.

"I grow tired of your lies… never forget your loyalties Wormtail. There is nothing that I shall easily forget." Voldemort paused to insure that Pettigrew had understood the threat completely before continuing, "However, even you can surprise me… You have done well this past year. If the information you have gathered proves to be accurate and of use, you will be amply rewarded…"

"T-thank you Master!" Pettigrew said as he bowed his head and shivered.

"Inform Lucius and the others that their Master has not forsaken them and they will be free in two days time. You may go."

Pettigrew nodded and hurried to leave as Voldemort glanced to the side of the room where the broken heap of a figure lay silently sobbing and unable to move.

"And Peter…" The Dark Lord called as he rubbed his forehead with long pale fingers.

"Yes Master?" Pettigrew questioned, stopping half way to the door and turning to face Voldemort once again.

"Alert the potions master – he has a patient."

To which Pettigrew spun and ran as quickly out of the room as his little feet would carry him.

A/N: I didn't want to do it but I had to in order to accelerate the plot. The next chapter will be up very soon… I promise!

3


	7. Almost

**Chapter 7**

**Almost**

"Hermione… I don't think… I can… feel my… arms anymore." Harry said as he tried to catch his breath through Hermione's bear like hug. She was, after all pinning his arms to his sides and his fingers were beginning to go numb.

"Oh…" she replied sheepishly as she let go and stepped back, giving Harry an appraising look.

The warmth that had radiated from within Harry not moments before quite suddenly dissipated, and though the air was filled with summer heat, curiously he felt cold.

"Harry you look a mess!" she said as her worried expression returned in full force.

"Yeah…err…" Harry began as he dropped his eyes to the floor and ran his right hand through his hair. It was true, he decided, he probably did look pretty bad. His hair felt even more unruly than usual – and a bit greasy. He hoped that it didn't resemble Snapes'.

"Well… you see…" he began but it seemed his stomach had other plans than to talk because at that moment it chose to growl loudly.

Harry hurriedly placed both palms over his angry stomach to stifle the noise as he began to feel heat rush into his face in embarrassment.

"Oh I'm sorry!" she exclaimed, sounding more worried than before. "You must be starving!"

Hermione stepped back out into the hall and picked up a medium sized card board box Harry had not noticed prior. Before he could question what it was, he had to jump out of her way as she hurried past him and set the box on the edge of his bed.

"Harry, what happened to your desk?" she asked, noticing the pile of unopened letters and dust up against the wall next to the nightstand.

"Well… umm… It's kind of hard to explain really…" Harry began awkwardly, again avoiding Hermiones' questioning stare as he rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand and pocketed his left.

"Never mind – you can tell me after you've had a bite to eat." she impatiently stated as she waved her hand in the air.

Hermione returned her attention to the box and shooed Crookshanks to the head of the bed where he promptly curled up into a ball on Harrys' pillow and stared at his mistress while she removed one tinfoil wrapped item after another and set them lined up at the foot. She grabbed one of the smaller round-shaped ones and turned back to Harry handing it to him.

Harry took it and upon unwrapping it saw what it was.

"Mince pie?" he asked with wide eyes.

His stomach gave another growl and forgetting his manners - took one large bite; taking half into his mouth at once. Hermione simply beamed at the sight.

"Mmmm… this is great Hermione, wherever did you get them?" Harry hungrily asked while crumbs of various sizes of breading escaped his mouth and he pointed at the other same sized and shaped packages lying across his bed.

"Oh… well… I've been learning to bake this past week… d-do you really like it Harry?" she asked nervously, searching Harrys' eyes for any discernable sign that he didn't.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle and grin broadly at the look on Hermione's face; until she abruptly broke eye contact and started staring at the window pane, biting her bottom lip. Harrys' grin fell in an instant.

"Hermione… are you completely nutters?! This is wonderful! This is better than at Hogwarts… it's the best I ever had!" he exclaimed – for he felt sure that it truly was the best he had ever tasted.

Hermione probed Harry's eyes once more and he was intent on focusing all his sincerity into them. She must have believed him for the sparkle returned to her eyes and she stopped biting her lower lip – which now glistened wet, looking softly swollen and puckered.

"Harry!" Hermione half yelled.

Her grin appeared to be even broader than before, and though she was blushing furiously - she seemed rather jubilant.

"What?" Harry asked, now more bewildered than ever.

"I **said** - 'thank you – you really know how to boost my confidence'."

His stomach growled once more before he realized that he had quite forgotten about the other half of mince pie still in his hand. In answer; he stuffed the remaining half into his mouth and replied.

"You're the best at everything you do Hermione, and now you're a great cook too." he said matter-of-factly, then added "May I have another?"

"Of course Harry!" Hermione happily answered as she grabbed two more mince pies off the bed; which she unwrapped before handing them to an eager Harry.

He took another huge bite out of one and motioned for her to sit on the edge of the bed, which she did – apparently happy to see him eating.

"I was bored out of my mind this past week. Normally my parents would have me helping them at the office - but for whatever reason they wouldn't let me, so I asked Mum to lend me her old cook books. I heard you haven't been eating… and I always wanted to have a go at cooking, so… Anyway, there are a lot of really good recipes I'd still like to try, though I had made an absolute disaster of breakfast, I don't think I'll attempt it ever again - I nearly burned down the house!" Hermione finished quietly laughing at the memory.

Harry finished off the first of the two pies and bit into the second before he absent mindedly declared;

"That's no problem, I can make our breakfasts."

Hermione sat silently and gave Harry a look he couldn't quite place when he suddenly remembered something she had said.

"Wait… how do you know if I've eaten or not?" he asked quizzically.

Hermione at once seemed quite embarrassed and began nervously biting her bottom lip again as she looked at the unopened letters on the floor.

"Well… I had talked to Dumbledore a few times and…" Hermione began but was then cut off.

"So now what?! Dumbledore's running around telling everyone about my business?" Harry spat, quickly feeling his temper rise.

Hermione jumped off the bed and stood facing Harry squarely as she narrowed her eyes and pointed to the letters on the floor next to the bed.

"Harry, I had written to you every day since we've gotten off the train! Not once did you return my letters! I even told Hedwig to force a response form you - but when she came back looking rumpled and dejected… What was I to do? I was worried about you Harry! I had to talk to someone!" she argued, matching his ire.

Harry felt his temper turn to guilt as he remembered that he hadn't written back to anyone, especially Hermione. He knew she would worry herself sick and yet he still chose not to answer her letters. He had felt so justified in his anger and sadness; he wasn't worried about how his behavior may look to his friends. But now that Hermione was standing not two feet from him, he just felt guilty and confused.

"I'm sorry Hermione." he sighed as he lowered his head and turned to look out the window. "It's just… It's just that I feel so out of control… It's like I can't ever be happy."

"I'm sorry too Harry… I wish… I wish Sirius was still here for you." she finished, wrapping her arms around herself and looking back down unfocused at the letters, biting her lip yet again.

Harry's shoulders drooped and he placed a hand on the bottom of the window as if to support himself standing.

"You have no idea… everyone close to me has died… Sirius… my parents… Cedric… EVERYONE HERMIONE!!" yelling the last bit as he straightened himself and turned his back completely to her, facing Hedwig's empty cage. His eyes burned and he closed them tightly, desperately trying to stem the flow of tears he hoped would not fall in front of her.

He could feel Hermione come up behind and as she placed a hand on his arm -he found his voice again shuddering.

"Don't touch me Hermione… you're next… then Ron… then Remus…then everyone else I give a damn about…"

"Harry… It's not your fault!" she said anxiously, then pleaded; "It's Voldemorts! He's the one killing people… not you! Please Harry… please don't do this to yourself!" and she only gripped his arm tighter, refusing to let go.

"Sirius died trying to save me… I should have practiced Occlumency like you told me… I should have listened to you when you told me it was a trap… I should have…"

Hermione stepped right up against Harry's back and pressed her forehead in between his shoulder blades, she started sobbing quietly as she said;

"Harry… If it's anyone's fault it's mine."

Harry turned his head and looked down at the small trembling hand gripping his left arm; astonished as he tried to comprehend how Hermione could possibly blame herself.

"How- how on earth can you blame yourself?" he croaked.

"I **shouldn't** have trusted Kreacher! I **should** have told you to Floo directly into the house to check for Sirius! I **should** have remembered that Snape was in the order! I **should** have paid more attention to the Death Eaters so I could have been with you in the veiled room!" she had hammered her fist into Harry's right shoulder as she cried out each point.

Harry rounded on Hermione so quickly that she immediately let go and took a step back clutching her chest in alarm at the sudden ferocity emanating from Harry's eyes. He pointed an accusing thumb at himself and hissed;

"He died because **I** was too stupid to listen to reason! He died because **I** was lured into a trap! Don't you start taking responsibility for something that's **my** fault Hermione!"

Hermione dropped her hands down to her sides and clenched her fists; eyes red and puffy, boring into his as she took a half step closer.

"He died because he chose to go to the Ministry and save **us** Harry! **US**!! And it was **his** choice to make – not **ours**!" she yelled, stomping her foot at the last bit in frustration; then quietly whispering "I just wish I would have done things differently, so that he wouldn't have had to make that decision."

A painful throb burned in Harry's chest and it hurt to see Hermione so teary eyed and upset, and it pained him even more deeply to see that she had already accepted blame for Sirius' death as well. He found that he was no longer angry, but tired and afraid once more. His shoulders drooped yet again in defeat and he looked down at the laces on her small brown trainers, ashamed at his outburst.

"You need to leave…" he softly implored.

He sensed Hermione stiffen and quickly went on before he lost his resolve.

"Voldemort's going to kill me Hermione! He'll kill you too just for being my friend… he only wants me… because I'm… I'm the only one..." he caught himself revealing the prophecy and stopped before going any further.

Hermione waited with baited breath, staring at Harry with intense worry, hoping he would finish saying whatever it was he was going to tell her – but when he remained silent with eyes focused downwards…

"Harry?" she intoned, lowering her head and trying to reestablish eye contact.

She gently placed both hands on his slumped shoulders and quietly said;

"This is about the prophecy isn't it? You've heard it and its not good right? That's why you've been so…" she glanced back down at the unopened letters, "distant."

Hermione then gripped Harry's shoulders and shook him forcibly – willing him to see the fierce determination and resolve in her eyes.

"He's not going to kill you if I have anything to say about it! It didn't take a prophecy for me to figure out that there's something going on between you and Voldemort. And when I heard about the duel between him and Professor Dumbledore… well, it's easy to conclude that you are the only one that can defeat him. That's why he tried to kill you when you were only a baby and that's why I'm going to make damn sure he can't kill you now!"

Harry sensed a small flicker of hope enter the furthest recess of his mind. After all, if anyone could help him it'd sure to be Hermione… She had solved Snapes riddle in first year, figured out a basilisk in the second, helped him save Sirius in the third, taught him both the four-point spell and summoning charm – which saved his life in the fourth, and he had learned all kinds of spells and jinx's from her research in the fifth with the D.A.. In fact, he came to the sudden realization that if it weren't for her… He was quite confident that he would have been long dead.

But then the haunting image of a lifeless and still Cedric combined with a collapsed Hermione at the Ministry assaulted his heart with astounding force. He felt as if Grawp himself had struck him down and he could find no way to recover.

"I-I can't allow it Hermione. I c-couldn't bear it if you died." he softly said, struggling to hold back the swell of tears trying to escape.

"Well that's not **your** choice to make now is it Harry!?" she questioned defiantly, "I'm going to help you do whatever it takes to overcome Voldemort so that you can finally be free. I'm going to be right by your side whether you like it or not and there's nothing you can do about it! It's **my** choice to make and I choose to give you fighting chance!" she huffed.

"You don't know what it's like Hermione!" he yelled, "You don't know what I went through when I thought that curse killed you! You have no idea…"

Hermione didn't wait to see what it was she no idea of - for she chose that moment to angrily respond;

"No Harry! It's you who doesn't know what it's like!" she cried, "I'm the one who watched you disappear without a trace – not knowing if you were dead or alive! I'm the one who watched you fall off your broom playing that stupid game! I'm the one who sits at your bedside in the school infirmary every single time something bad happens! You know that there is a joke running at school that says there's a golden bed in the infirmary with a plaque bearing your name? How much longer do you think I can take this!?" she let go of Harry's shoulders and crossed her arms, waiting for him to respond.

He realized then and there that he had never taken the time to consider what she must go through every time something happened to him, and he quickly became disgusted with himself. So, when he said nothing, but continued to look at her with mingled doubt and embarrassment, she continued - desperate to resolve the issue at hand.

"Now the way I see it, you can either waste your time and energy trying to avoid me – as if Voldemort wouldn't kill me anyway seeing as I'm not a 'pureblood', or you can accept my help and beat him to a pulp, and in so doing, protect me by default." she finished, satisfied that she had gotten her point across.

Harry nodded, figuring it was inevitable. He knew he couldn't argue with her anyway, sometimes he wished she wouldn't make so much sense.

"Thanks…" he said taking a deep breath and nodding again.

Hermione uncrossed her arms and wiped away the tears that had fallen with her hands.

"Don't thank me Harry. I haven't done anything… yet." she sniffed with a half smile then sat down again at the middle of the bed.

Crookshanks stirred from Harry's pillow and began rubbing himself up against Hermione's right arm. She reached over and placed him contently on her lap and began stroking him once more - the loud purring breaking the silence that had come between them.

"Finish your food Harry." Hermione admonished as she pointed at the half eaten pie, still in Harry's right hand.

Harry had once again completely forgotten his unfinished meal and seeing the last little bit, his stomach chose to remind him. Now that he was emotionally spent, he found himself hungry once more, so in one giant bite he quickly finished off the remainder.

Hermione gave him a genuine smile and again grabbed two more mince pies and threw them to him.

He wondered how many of these she had made as he took a large bite out of the first, they were awfully good and he was certain that he would not be so well fed by the Dursley's.

"My Dad's says I've baked enough for a small army." she laughed, trying once again to return some normalcy to their conversation, "I've brought about thirty actually. There's more in the box. I just finished baking the last of them earlier today since I had already packed last night." she smiled.

Harry hurriedly swallowed and said with a soft smile of his own;

"You are amazing Hermione… honestly I don't know what I'd do without you."

She turned and looked once more inside the box, trying not to show the slight flush that had again invaded her cheeks, and pulled out a large sealed flask.

Harry couldn't help but grin at the sight of Hermione trying to hide the blush - she had every right to be proud of herself he thought. He truly was amazed at what she could learn and do just from reading books.

"I also brought some pumpkin juice." she said waving the canister, after which she set down next to all the rest of the packages on the bed.

"What's everything else?" Harry asked as he took another giant bite of the pie in his left hand and pointed at everything on his bed with the other.

Hermione beamed and pointed at the differing shaped objects next to her, identifying them with one hand and continuing to pet a purring Crookshanks with the other.

"These of course are more mince pies, and these longer ones over here are brandy snaps – they're Dads favorite but they're not sugar–free, so he didn't touch them - they were hard to make but if you like them then it will have been worth it, and I had a go at making some custard crèmes – they're in the tins. Oh…I also baked a pumpkin pie; it's still in the box which, indecently I had Kingsley put a chilling charm on so everything will keep for a while."

Harry, crumbs and all, simply stood and gaped at her; to say he was dumbfounded and speechless would have been an understatement.

Seeing the expression on Harry's face she laughed,

"I told you I had been bored!"

"I guess so!" came Harry's stunned reply.

"So… are you going tell me what's been going on?" she asked nodding her head at the pile of dust on the floor and then looking up at him expectantly.

Harry sat with his back to the wall facing her and began to recap as much as he could remember from the time he destroyed his desk till his return to his bedroom, trying not leave out any detail – except the part about her coat - as Hermione sat looking deep in thought and listening intently to every word, patiently waiting for him to finish. He expected her to talk about the house Sirius had left him, or even about Dobby – but instead she said;

"Well… it's not surprising that you can do wand-less magic, a lot of witches and wizards can to some extent. But what is surprising is how you can manifest it in such a way as to completely incinerate your writing desk and yet leave everything else completely untouched. Everyone can see that you're going to be a powerful wizard Harry. I wonder who Dumbledore is getting to teach you about it?" she asked with furrowed brow.

"No idea." answered Harry, "And how is Flitwick supposed to teach me about dueling?"

Hermione rolled her eyes before answering;

"Honestly Harry, don't you ever listen? Professor Flitwick was a dueling champion for many years! I didn't know he was in the Order though, I don't remember seeing him… I suppose there are plenty of members we don't know about?" she questioned.

Harry shrugged.

"I'll have to ask him about that during my next lesson."

"Flitwick?" he confusedly asked.

"No Harry, Dumbledore – my Occlumency lessons. Remember?"

"Oh…" said Harry, suddenly nervous as he remembered that she would be helping him with it. He wasn't sure he wanted her poking around his head any more than Snape, but he knew the grave consequences of not learning it properly – and he had to admit that learning it from Hermione was definitely more pleasant than the alterative.

"Anyway…" started Hermione, who looked as if she were having similar reservations about having Harry in her head as well but had come to the same conclusion as he, "how come you didn't ask about the weapon Dumbledore mentioned?"

"I don't know… I think I was thrown off when he mentioned that the Order didn't have a place to meet." he sighed and rubbed his forehead, knowing he had missed something significant.

"Hmmm…" Hermione mumbled in reflection before saying "It's also very interesting that you can see magical Items. I suppose that means you can see the magic in people too."

"Huh?" asked Harry.

"I've been going through the books that Dumbledore left for me and I found that there have been those who can actually see the magic in people – you know, see how much magic they in fact have- how potent they are and how much power is actually behind their spell… this is great Harry! This means that you can produce defensive charms that can protect you from more than just minor curses and jinxes!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Hermione – I don't understand what you're talking about!" Harry felt his head begin to hurt.

"Think about it Harry!"

"I'd rather not…" he was now rubbing his head with both hands.

"If you can determine the amount of power cast in the spell then you can, in turn, increase the amount of power you put in your own defensive spell! Oh… this is fascinating! I can't wait to find out more! Maybe I can sit in on your lessons!" Hermione said very excitedly.

"Oh." was all Harry managed to say as her brow furrowed once more.

"I don't understand about the whole puberty thing however… you've been going through puberty since second year… there must be something else… I'm going to look that one up as well."

Harry didn't find this at all as thrilling as Hermione apparently did, and upon pulling his knees up and resting his arms on them discovered he was still pretty tired.

Hermione dropped her voice and asked worriedly;

"Are you still having trouble sleeping?"

He looked up to find her face full of concern. The look she gave quickly suppressed any anger he would have felt.

"Jeez Hermione – does everybody tell you everything?" he asked, unable to completely curb the spiteful tone in his voice.

"Ron cares about you too you know." she answered - still speaking softly, leaving Harry embarrassed at his minor outburst.

"Well… today I slept the best I can ever remember." he responded truthfully.

"No nightmares?" she asked.

He looked up at the ceiling in thought before answering;

"No… not this morning - I slept brilliantly in fact." he grinned, still gazing at a spot on the ceiling as he recalled the pleasant sensations, still vivid in his mind.

Hermione stared at him, unsure as to whether he was being truthful before finally deciding he was.

"Finish your food Harry. You need a bath." she said teasingly as she wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah," Harry laughed looking down at himself "I probably smell funny." he said wrinkling his nose in return and smiling.

He stood, raised his arms over his head and stretched; twisting side to side. He grunted as small pops and cracks came out of his joints.

"You look like Crookshanks!" Hermione laughed, putting her hand to her mouth.

"Thanks." he replied as he walked to his trunk and removed a fresh pair of jeans, knickers and a crimson t-shirt, "Since he's **your** cat – I'll take that as a compliment." he finished, grinning.

"You've got about fifteen minutes before I have to go, so get!" she playfully ordered.

"But… then maybe I should wait until you've left…" Harry said straightening and facing her once again.

"Don't worry Harry; I'll still be here when you finish... besides how am I supposed to know that you've really cleaned yourself up?" she smirked.

"All right, I'll be right back then…" he said as he headed out the door.

Once in the bathroom, he quickly undressed and jumped into the shower. He turned the water up hot; he felt both metaphorically and physically cleaner as the water cascaded from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet. He didn't think he was ready to talk about Sirius, he knew Hermione had tried to bring the subject of his death up several times back at Hogwarts – yet now that she had finally confronted him on it, he found himself glad he did. He marveled at how wonderfully calm he actually felt; it seemed as if the sun had peeked through the storm clouds of his heart and he was warmed. He still missed his God-father, and he still blamed himself; but for the first time he could ever remember, he didn't feel alone.

He finished and did his best to quickly dry himself, and after dressing as rapidly as he could, ran back into his room only to find that Hermione was busily tidying up.

Hedwig's cage had been cleaned and the window and its blinds were both wide open letting in much light and fresh air. The dust of his desk was gone and in its place rested the box she had brought; the food and drink carefully returned and packed. On the nightstand, neatly stacked were his letters. His wardrobe stood open revealing all the clothes from his trunk nicely folded and hung, and it looked as if Hermione was getting ready to make the bed, as she held the comforter up in one hand and the sheet in the other, until she noticed that he had entered and abruptly stopped what she was doing and turned swiftly to face him.

She threw her arms behind her back and looked at Harry wide eyed, both shocked and embarrassed. She was blushing so feverishly that he could almost feel the heat from where he stood.

"Oh… Harry! Um…I didn't hear you come in! I… I hope you don't mind. I… I was just…"

Harry frowned in complete bewilderment and looked down at himself wondering if in his haste he had forgotten to put his pants on. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what he'd done to cause a reaction like that from her.

"It's alright Hermione… I'm the one who should be embarrassed," he said running his hand through his still wet air and glancing at his trunk, "I haven't really been keeping up the room."

And then suddenly it hit him - she had emptied his trunk! She had touched his knickers! A girl had touched his knickers!! And to make matters worse – that girl was Hermione!!

His mind began working frantically as he tried to remember what shape they were in. He prayed to every God he could think of that she hadn't noticed his older holey ones…

Now he could feel the intense heat radiating from his face and was assured that his blush matched hers when he heard a deep voice from the doorway.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your color contest, but it seemed to me that if both of you got much redder you'd lose consciousness - I think I'd have a hard time explaining to the Order how you two ended up at St. Mungos."

Harry turned to find an amused Shaklebolt dressed in a crisp black suit and matching tie; his bald head nearly touching the top of the entryway as the gold loop hanging from his ear glistened from the window light.

He stepped into the room with a big smile and extended his hand to Harry.

"Rather small room you got here Harry, I didn't come up last time. Had I known I would have threatened your uncle into giving you a bigger one." Kingsley said as he shook Harry's hand and glanced about the room. "It's nice to see you gain." he finished.

The room really did seem small to Harry, especially now with Kingsley's added bulk.

"Err…you too Kingsley." responded Harry, letting go of his hand.

"If you're ready, your parents are waiting for us outside." he said nodding to Hermione, then to Harry he finished, "They don't mean to be rude but they have heard plenty in regards to your Uncles hospitality."

"Oh, well let me walk you down then." offered Harry, noting that both his and Hermione's color had returned to normal.

"I'll go ahead and check outside the front." Kingsley said. And when he received a questioning look form Harry, he shrugged and answered "protocol".

He then turned to leave, stopping at the door.

"I'll see you in a few days Harry – stay safe." he added and then left.

"Come on…" said Hermione, her smile returning.

They walked out together only to find Uncle Vernon's look of disgust from the bottom of the stairs to which Harry completely ignored. Hermione however wrapped her arm around Harry's so that they walked down step in step with her head held high in defiance. Vernon continued to glare from the hallway as they got to the open front door where Kingsley stood waiting.

Hermione let Harry's arm go and turned to face him. She looked up into his eyes searchingly – he felt he ought to do something, but he hadn't a clue as to what it was.

She let out a sympathetic sigh and smiled as she said "I'll see you in two weeks. Dumbledore says I'm to stay at Grimmauld." then stood on her toes and softly kissed his cheek.

Uncle Vernon instantly became incensed as he took a roaring step forward, raised his fist and bellowed;

"I will not have this behavior in my house! Especially with the door wide open so the neigh..!"

Kingsley turned when he heard the shouting but stopped when he saw that Hermione had stepped in front of Harry; abruptly halting Harry's Uncle in the middle of his tirade.

Harry saw that Hermione had her wand pointed ominously at Uncle Vernon; who had taken several steps back, his bulging eyes fixed upon it as if the wand were a bomb which may go off at any moment.

He briefly wondered where she had hit it for he was certain he hadn't noticed it earlier.

"If you lay a **finger** on Harry, or harm him in any way – I will curse you into oblivion and back again. **Do - you - understand - me?**"

Harry had never heard Hermione's voice sound so menacing and deadly before… It not only terrified Uncle Vernon into nodding his understanding, it had scared Harry as well.

She turned back to Harry and threw her arms around his neck, then pulled his head down kissing his cheek tenderly once more and, in his ear she whispered "sleep well."

She released him, smiled at his confused expression for a moment then turned and walked outside to Kingsley.

It was strange he thought as he watched them get into a silver car he didn't recognize. For a second there he had almost felt whole again…almost…

11


	8. Training Begins

**Chapter 8**

**Training Begins**

Well past midnight, Harry returned from Grimmauld and fell to his bed, sweaty and exhausted. His training wasn't going nearly as well as he had hoped. First, Moody and Tonks had gotten the better of him, then he couldn't perform to McGonagall's standards and so received a four roll essay assignment on defensive transfiguration and, Flitwick had positively destroyed any illusions Harry may have had that he was a decent Dueler.

It didn't help matters either now that Moody had taken every opportunity to "surprise attack" Harry several times a day, he had even done it during Harry's lessons with the others. The fact that Harry had been unprepared to defend himself in time during each of these "attacks" seemed only to fuel Moody's desire to increase the frequency of them.

"You never know when you might be on the wrong end of a wand boy," Moody had admonished after the fourth attack, "you aren't going to be able to tell when a Death Eater is coming for you, so it's best to just be prepared at all times."

Every creaking, popping, cracking, whooshing, and murmuring sound currently had Harry's hair on end, wand pointed at the ready, and his left eye twitching uncontrollably. It seemed that because Moody had no children of his own, he had taken it to heart to create a duplicate of himself in Harry.

So once again, he found himself tired, depressed, miserable, and for the first time, truly paranoid. If none of his mentors could defeat Voldemort, how exactly he was supposed to do it he still hadn't a clue. He couldn't even defend himself against Moody's repeated assaults.

The feeling of hopelessness had returned full force and strangely, a feeling of peace with the inevitable. Destiny seemed to have called for his death, and as the days went by, Harry not only became more aware of it, he became more accepting of it.

Harry closed his eyes and attempted to recall the events of the past few days, certain that Moody wouldn't dare accost him at his Uncles house, after all Harry wasn't allowed to do magic here. And truth be told, at the moment he was so sore and drained, Voldemort himself could come waltzing into his bedroom and Harry would welcome the opportunity to be put out of his misery.

Sighing heavily, Harry began the mental rituals Hermione had instructed him to do every night before going to sleep in her first letter. He quickly learned that they were necessary for him clear his mind and reflect properly.

A smile crept onto his face. Hermione had helped him already, and she wasn't even around to do so. He thought it quite funny that she had taken to writing him every day again. In fact, the first letter explaining the mind clearing techniques Dumbledore had taught her had been written on airline stationary, which led Harry to strongly suspect that she had started her letter while on the plane to France.

Seeing Hedwig had been a real treat also. He was happy to see that she looked in high sprits once more and made a point to pet her affectionately. It seemed that being with Hermione had done his pet good; she had obviously taken extra care of her. Harry hoped that Hermione would feel the same once he returned Crookshanks, and at that thought, the part Kneazle jumped onto the bed, purring loudly.

"Hello old boy," Harry began as he scratched Crookshanks behind the ears.

"I'm sorry I have to keep dragging you back and forth between here and Grimmauld. It's just that I can't let you run around here too much… you know how my relatives are."

Actually, Harry had seen very little of them. They seemed to have taken on extra curricular activities outside the house. They were seldom home these days. It was as if Hermione had actually put Uncle Vernon completely out. He hadn't said two words to Harry since, and avoided him like never before. Harry still had a hard time believing what she had done. He had been stunned into silence at the time, though 'scared' into silence might be a better description now that he thought about it. A confrontation with Voldemort seemed a wiser choice, he decided, opposed to an angry and hostile Hermione. Harry grinned fondly at the memory. He hadn't seen Uncle Vernon with such a look of abject terror since before first year when Hagrid gave Dudley his tail.

It seemed so long ago. If he knew then, what he knew now, would he still have followed Hagrid into this strange world? At the time, he had thought that anything would have been better than where he was, but now? Harry wasn't as sure anymore.

It used to be one adventure after another. He realized that he had felt younger then - time would last forever, and he, along with his friends, were immortal. The situation had become much grimmer since, and the certainty of survival had long since passed. He found himself in quite desperation; hoping both Ron and Hermione would not only survive being his friend, but that they would also go on with their lives, and not take the responsibility for his death.

Harry had begun to think of his own demise with such ease now that he no longer shuddered. In fact, he had taken a note out of his Godfathers book and had written a will of his own. He had been quite surprised to find how easy it was to write of such things.

In it, he had thanked every one he knew for helping him prepare, and for all their offerings of friendship. He told Remus not to blame himself, and that he would tell both his parents and Sirius how much he tried and cared. He especially thanked both Ron and Hermione for being his best friends through it all, and he had even taken the time to write how sorry he was that he could no longer be with them, but hoped that the reading of his will meant that he had at least taken Voldemort with him, and they could all live safely now.

He would leave one third each of his inheritance to Lupin, Ron, and Hermione. Grimmauld would go to Lupin, the chocolate frog cards to Ron, and the two possessions that Harry cared about the most would go to Hermione – Hedwig and his photo album. Hedwig did seem perfectly happy to stay with her, and vice versa. His album was another story all together; he had fist thought of Lupin, as there were of pictures of his parents and Sirius. Though curiously, he couldn't find any with Lupin, and that had made Harry fell uneasy for some reason he couldn't quite grasp.

There were plenty of pictures of him with Ron and Hermione however, courtesy of one Colin Creevey, and curious still, the majority of those were of just he and Hermione. Of course, most were from fourth year when Ron wasn't talking to him, and Colin had gone absolutely nutters with his camera in a futile attempt to capture every moment of the Tri-Wizard tournament, especially those of the Gryffindor champion. Besides, Hermione was a girl, and Harry supposed she would appreciate something more sentimental than his chocolate frog cards.

Harry took a deep breath and concentrated on clearing his mind once more as Crookshanks climbed up onto his lower chest and curled into a ball. It seemed to have become his custom every night since Harry started taking care of him. It kept Harry quite warm, and he felt that he slept better for it.

A cool breeze wafted through the open window and the scents of Hermione's coat hanging on the back of Harry's study chair entered his consciousness. He had draped it over the chair shortly after she left, hoping to get all the wrinkles out of it so that he could return it properly. At first, he thought of hanging it in his wardrobe, but peculiarly he gained comfort in seeing out in the open. As the nights went by, he found himself pushing the coat-covered chair closer and closer to the head of his bed. She seemed to be closer that way… and he felt less alone.

Regardless, he hadn't had a single nightmare since he had obtained it. But, he guessed that it had more to do with Crookshanks than anything else. After all, the Kneazle did make him feel rather warm and comfortable. He supposed that was one of the many reasons Hermione was so fond of her pet.

"Is this how you sleep with Hermione too?" Harry mumbled sleepily.

Crookshanks merely purred louder in answer, the vibrations relaxed and soothed Harry's aching body even more than he had grown accustomed too. He grinned goofily at the pleasant sensations and envisioned the bandy-legged cat similarly resting on Hermione as she slept.

Harry tightened his closed eyes and began breathing slowly, deliberately, and rhythmically, focusing on the imaginary Hermione as she breathed until her chest rose and fell in sync with his. Crookshanks' purrs became more pronounced, and Harry could feel the calming vibrations throughout his body and imagined Hermione feeling the same. He could clearly see the ginger paws resting at her pajama top's V, where her cream-colored skin met the flannel, highlighting the little freckles like stars in some distant, glorious milky painted galaxy… rising and falling, rising and falling…

A sudden rush of heat entered Harry's face, and he suddenly felt as if on fire when he came to the crashing realization that he had been focusing not on Crookshanks, but on Hermione's chest. Embarrassingly, he quickly adjusted his mental mechanics and forced the image from his mind, concentrating instead on the first days of training…

…Harry found himself in the basement kitchen at Grimmauld. It was four in the afternoon and he was prepared to meet Moody for his first lesson. He looked around and found a hot teakettle, two cups, and some crumpets on the middle of the giant table. He noticed that one of the cups sat half full and supposed it belonged to Moody. Too nervous for food or drink, Harry sat and waited for his first instructor to return.

His thoughts returned once more to the events earlier in the day. He couldn't get his mind off of what Hermione had done. She had really surprised him, not with just her cooking, but the way in which she helped him with Sirius. Their talk had made him feel a bit better in spirit, and she had even defended him rather like a mother bear protecting her cubs. He hadn't seen Uncle Vernon run off, but by the time Hermione had left with Kingsley, and Harry turned to head back into his room to prepare for the day, Uncle Vernon was nowhere to be found. Harry grinned rather stupidly at the image; Hermione seemed to have frightened Uncle Vernon more so than the Order had back at the train station.

And what exactly had she been embarrassed about when he caught her in the process of making his bed? Harry had returned to his room only to find his knickers untouched in his trunk, nevertheless she had acted so oddly…

Harry's musings were interrupted by the opening of the kitchen door, but when he looked, no one was there.

"Moody?" asked Harry hesitantly.

To which there came no reply.

"Dobby?" called Harry questioningly.

The silence of the house remained, and Harry was growing anxious.

He pulled his wand out of his jeans and headed cautiously out and up the stairs into the main hall. It was there in the middle that he could feel the prickling return to the back of his neck. He knew immediately that he was being watched, so he narrowed his eyes and began searching about in an attempt to locate Moody's eye.

He caught sight of the bluish beam emanating down the main hall from what Harry remembered to be the study.

'_What is Moody doing in there?'_ Harry wondered.

Harry approached the closed door and knocked softly, whispering "Mr. Moody?"

Silence reigned once more as Harry slowly opened the door. He looked to back of the room and against a large bookcase where the "eye" obviously stood hidden behind the opalescent sheen of an invisibility cloak.

"Honestly Mr. Moody, don't you remember that I can see you under that cloak?" Harry heard himself say, and then roll his eyes as he realized that he had just sounded just like Hermione.

The only thing Harry heard before he fell to a heap on the ground was a woman's voice from behind him as she whispered, "stupefy!"…

"…Alright boy, sit up and take it easy," Moody's gruff and raspy voice said as he propped Harry up against the back of the door.

Harry's head hurt as his vision spun wildly about the room.

"Wha-what happened?" Harry managed to say.

"Sorry Harry! It was Moody's idea!" exclaimed a voice that unmistakably belonged to Tonks.

"T-Tonks?" questioned Harry as he looked bleary eyed at the obviously feminine figure hunched over his right, she appeared very concerned.

"I told you this was a bad idea! We should have given him some hint of what was going to happen today!" berated Tonks to a very unapologetic Moody.

"What? You think that the Death Eaters will give the boy some kind of advanced notice before they attack him?" Moody growled. "You know better than that Tonks! He needs to be prepared!"

"Here Harry, drink some of this," whispered Tonks as she handed him a small vial of white colored liquid.

She uncorked it and a strong smell of peppermint entered Harry's nose.

Harry took a sip and noticed that it tasted just like the Pepperup Potion he was all too familiar with, but a bit stronger. His head and vision cleared the instant he swallowed.

"That's it Harry, a sip is all it takes," said Tonks as she re-corked the vial and placed it in her robe pocket. She stepped back with an appraising look.

Harry quickly got to his feet before replying.

"Why did you guys attack me?" he asked incredulously, rubbing the back of his head.

"You got to be prepared boy," Moody reiterated. "You got to be aware of your surroundings at all times. You can't think that you're ever safe - **ever!**"

Harry thought Moody was being a bit unfair; after all, he had prepared himself for a lesson, not an attack that's for sure.

"Well, at least you had enough sense to have your wand out," Moody finished, shaking his head in thought when Harry failed to reply.

"Harry, Death Eaters aren't going to attack you by themselves. They always work in pairs at the very least, much as Aurors do. With any luck, Alastor and I will show you what it takes to handle yourself against multiple attackers," Tonks said, looking more serious than Harry had ever seen.

The rest of the afternoon proved to be no better. Harry had a difficult time at best defending himself against the two Aurors, let alone return hexing. Though he had managed to stun Tonks on two separate occasions, Moody seemed to be cut out of an entirely different cloth. Harry quickly saw why he was considered the best Auror that had ever lived, he was damn near impossible to defend against even when Harry knew where he was and what he was going to do.

It didn't get any easier when Moody decided to chuck his invisibility cloak and remove his magical eye, because then, he became truly invisible to Harry. Why he could see the magic in those items, but not in the two Aurors like Hermione had supposed he would, he hadn't a clue. He didn't think it would help much anyway, it would just confirm his depressing suspicions that he was already magically out classed by his two instructors.

After the sixth time Harry regained consciousness, they called it a day…

…"Alright Potter, what we are going to attempt to do today is considered N.E.W.T level. It has been referred to as _'defensive transfiguration',_ but all it simply is, is making those objects which are inanimate around you, animate - to serve the purposes of either protection or distraction or both," Professor McGonagall declared sternly as she stood in the middle of the basement training room and looked over her glasses at a confused Harry.

The basement training room looked at first to be similar to the room of requirement back at Hogwarts, that is, empty until something specific was needed. Currently, there sat a large wardrobe at one end to Harry's right, and a writing desk at the other to his left. The walls appeared to be padded with heavy rolls of cloth, and the door through which they entered had disappeared. The floor looked wooden, but felt spongy with every step, and the ceiling seemed to have recessed lighting, much like his Aunt Petunia's kitchen. Other than that, the room didn't seem unusual at all.

"I see by the look on your face that a demonstration is in order. Please retreat ten paces and have your wand at the ready," the Professor said, as she too removed her wand from underneath her emerald green robes, and stepping a few feet back.

"Now, hex me Potter… if you can," McGonagall stated as a small, challenging smile curled the corners of her thin lips.

"B-but Professor, I can't attack you!" Harry sputtered; astonished that she would make such a request.

"Please do Mr. Potter," she replied somewhat impatiently.

Still uncertain, Harry raised his wand, hesitated for a moment, then pointed it at her and yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Just as the incantation left his lips, the Professor motioned her wand towards the wardrobe at the far right of the room, which sprung to life and dashed in between Harry's spell and McGonagall, effectively blocking it.

"There is a great benefit to this spell if you can master it," she said pointedly. "Try again if you please."

"Rictusempra, Stupefy, Incendio!" Harry yelled in quick succession.

Just as the wardrobe came to life again, McGonagall pointed her wand at Harry yelling, "Tarantallegra!"

The wardrobe threw its doors open and danced around catching the first two spells without effect. Harry's third spell, however, completely incinerated it.

He motioned his wand up and down as he shouted, "Protego!" thereby blocking McGonagall's counter attack.

McGonagall straightened, tilted her head to one side, and raised her eyebrows in mild surprise.

"I can honestly say that I've never seen the Incendio spell have that exact effect before," she said, conjuring a duplicate wardrobe with her wand and setting it back against the far right wall.

"But Professor, why transfigure the wardrobe at all? I mean, why not just summon it so that it's in the way of the spell?" Harry asked, frowning. He reasoned it would be much simpler, and besides, he already knew how to do **_that_**.

"I'm sorry Potter, I thought that to be obvious," McGonagall answered wryly, "If you're concentration and spell is fixated on an object during your defense, how are you supposed to counter?" she questioned.

"Ok, you've got a point," Harry replied sheepishly.

"As you may have noticed, by animating the wardrobe, and giving the specific instructions to intercept all the spells aimed at me, I was free to return my attention to you and counter with my own offensive spells," she patiently explained.

"But how do I do that?" Harry asked, completely perplexed.

"It's no different than the tea cup exercises you do in my class, though the wardrobe and table may be bigger, the principle remains the same," the Professor encouragingly replied. "Shall we give it a try then?"

"I suppose…," answered Harry, a bit concerned.

He hoped he didn't make a complete fool of himself. He remembered that he could barely get his teacup to stand, let alone move around on its own accord, whereas Hermione could make hers run circles around his.

It would be so much simpler if he were allowed to dodge the spells instead, he mused.

"Tarantallegra!" yelled McGonagall.

Harry pointed his wand at the table, mentally ordering it to intercept the hostile spell; which immediately came to life, tripped over its own legs, and crashed loudly to the ground. With nothing to stop it, and no time to utter a defensive spell, McGonagall's struck him, to which Harry's legs began moving about with a mind of their own.

This precise scene played itself out four more times in a row, and he was becoming completely frustrated that he couldn't get the table to move without damaging itself. Now Harry's legs were getting tired, and he felt he was losing his concentration.

"Finite Incantatem!" commanded the Professor, teetering on the brink of exasperation, "Honestly Potter, must Ms. Granger be right next to you for you to get the…AAAHHH!"

Harry didn't understand what just happened. One second Professor McGonagall was lecturing, the next screaming, and then, apparently, he passed out, only to wake up moments later with his back to one of the padded walls in the training room, with both Moody and McGonagall hovering over him - his vision blurry, and his head in an uncomfortable spin.

Harry's mood grew darker as the sudden realization that he had been stunned for the seventh time in two days hit him. He was not growing fond of the experience.

"Here, drink some of this son," growled Moody, "You'll pick right up."

Harry recognized the vial as the same type of super Pepperup Potion Tonks had given him the first day.

"What is the meaning of this Alastor?" shouted McGonagall, completely incensed.

"Preparing Harry of course," answered Moody matter-of-factly as he straightened himself, satisfied that Harry had sipped enough of the potion and was coming around.

"_Preparing_?" spat McGonagall, "_Preparing_ for what exactly? You Disillusioned yourself, hid in the corner of this room, and then stunned Potter with his back turned - in the middle of my lessons no less!"

"Minerva!" retorted Moody in his gravelly voice, "The boy's got to be ready for anything! Constant vigilance I say! Constant Vigilance!" he finished, yelling as he pounded one gnarly fist into the palm of his other hand.

"Constant…?" started McGonagall in disbelief, clutching her chest with one hand and stepping back, "Have you gone completely mad?"

"How else is he supposed to be ready? He's got to be aware at all times!" stated Moody defensively.

"Why on earth are you wearing that ridiculous thing?" demanded McGonagall, completely ignoring Moody's answer, staring intently at his disfigured face.

It was then that Harry noticed the black patch covering the socket where Moody's magical eye should have been.

The old Auror contorted his face, scrunched his real eye even more than usual, and cracked a crazed toothy grin. With his wild - scraggly hair flailing about, and wooden clawed leg, Harry felt certain that a pirate's hat would have made Moody's look complete.

"Didn't Dumbledore tell you? Potter here can see magical objects, I would have given myself away!" responded Moody the pirate rather proudly.

"I see," said McGonagall, as she gave Harry the first true smile of the day, "Never the less, four rolls of parchment detailing what we've attempted. I'll expect it by next week Potter… "

"…Oh, I was so excited when the Headmaster asked me to instruct you in the fine art of Dueling!" squeaked Professor Flitwick as he happily clapped his long fingered hands together.

He stood at one end of the training room, now devoid of furniture, and instructed Harry to stand facing him at the other. For the first time, Harry really took a good look at the short Professor. He unexpectedly had the brief thought that Flitwick might some how be related to the Goblins…

It didn't surprise Harry to see that the little Professor stood no taller than a few feet; he came to the quick conclusion that his small stature definitely would be a strong asset in Dueling - he simply presented a smaller target. He was surprised, however, at just how ancient Flitwick seemed to be. His mannerisms and youthful disposition stood in stark contrast to both his shock of white hair, and the wrinkles that lined his face.

Flitwick grinned happily and pulled his wand out from his brightly colored green-teal robes as he hummed a strange, light tune. He pointed his wand about the room, causing the walls, floor, and ceiling to give a faint bluish glow.

"An absorbent charm," answered Flitwick, noticing Harry's questioning look.

He then brought his wand to his chest and played with the tip of it with the fingers of his left hand, lecturing as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"The most important aspect of dueling is not simply dodging your opponents volleys, but in knowing what the spell that is being cast actually is, and therefore, blocking, deflecting, or altering it all together," started Flitwick.

"I'm sorry Professor, but what do you mean by _'altering'_?" questioned Harry.

The old Professor looked up in thought for a moment, and then responded, "It involves the varying degrees of spells. Some can be blocked, some deflected, and some altered. To block, your defensive charm's power must be greater than your opponent's. If both your opponent's and your defensive spells are of equal strength, then the offending spell will be deflected. If the offending spell is of greater power than your defensive one, you will be struck. The key here, and this is what separates the great Duelers form the average, is to alter the spell itself. If you happen to be struck by a restraining charm, for example, you must override its basic command structure to suit your own needs."

Harry furrowed his brow in confusion.

"I see a demonstration is in order," began Flitwick excitedly, "Please attempt to disarm me Mr. Potter."

Harry assumed his dueling stance and prepared to cast, the Charms Professor however, didn't move at all.

"Expelliarmus!" yelled Harry, pointing his wand at Flitwick.

With surprising speed Harry didn't think Flitwick possessed, the old professor thrust his wand in an up and down motion while muttering, "Protego!", and the disarming charm became completely absorbed by the shield spell.

"How about something a bit stronger this time Mr. Potter," requested Flitwick pleasantly.

"Petrificus Totalus!" shouted Harry, aiming the spell at Flitwick once more.

Once again, Flitwick cast his shield charm, but this time, instead of Harry's spell being absorbed, the body-binding spell ricocheted off with a low 'twang' and struck the ceiling.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" Flitwick gleefully exclaimed clapping his hands together once more, "Let's try something truly nasty now shall we?"

The old professor thought for a moment before excitedly stating, "Minerva tells me you're a natural with fire charms! Let's have you set me on fire!"

If Harry never thought the little Professor entirely insane before, he surely would from this point forward.

"P-Professor… I can't do that!" exclaimed Harry, horrified at the very idea.

"It's quite alright I assure you! It wouldn't be the first time you know!" he responded confidently, "Go on!"

Harry felt sure he was going to regret this, maybe if he cast a small one…

"Incendio," he mumbled softly, not putting any effort into the spell at all.

A small, pencil thin stream of fire escaped Harry's wand, easily deflected by Flitwick's shield charm.

"Come now Mr. Potter, don't embarrass yourself so! How often do you get the chance to attack a teacher?" he cajoled.

When Harry hesitated, Flitwick switched tactics.

"Pretend I'm Serverus," he suggested, "We've all wanted to hex him at one time or another!" he finished, covering his mouth with both hands in mild surprise.

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at his Charms Professor as he dropped his hands and grinned roguishly, twirling his wand with his long fingers.

"Ready when you are Mr. Potter."

Might as well do as asked, he was a Dueling champion, Harry reasoned.

"Incendio!" yelled Harry.

Harry grew immediately concerned, though Flitwick had said he was ready, Harry didn't think he was prepared for the ball of fire that hurled itself towards him at an alarming speed. He watched as a wide-eyed Flitwick motioned his wand side to side, and then become completely engulfed in flames.

Harry quickly panicked, thinking he had killed his teacher, but just as he started to run forward, the flames surrounding Flitwick changed from a dark red and orange color to a white. Then, to Harry's continued astonishment, Flitwick emerged unscathed from a plume of feathers, breathing heavily, but smiling.

The Professor took a few steps towards Harry, then turned, pointed at the feathers still suspended in the air and said, "See Mr. Potter, I altered your spell since I was incapable of either blocking or deflecting it."

The little Professor paused, bent over, and placed both hands on his knees. He took a few deep breathes then stated, "Whew! That was quite the fire charm Mr. Potter; remind me not to be so foolish next time! Now… let's Duel shall we?" he asked, straitening and smiling once more.

Harry didn't need to Duel with the Charms Professor more than once to realize just how out-classed he was. Flitwick had easily disarmed, body-binded, jelly-legged, babbling cursed, bat-bogied, twitchy-eared, silenced, petrified, and roped Harry in succession. All and all, Harry felt this wasn't the best confidence building session he had ever had.

"I think that's enough for today Mr. Potter," said Flitwick softly, "Just go over the altering techniques you learned today with Mr. Lupin. You are a quick study young man; this is only the first day. I had the same troubles with my first lesson. Now that you have been exposed to this new way of Dueling, I guarantee a better outcome for you when we meet again next week," he finished encouragingly.

"Thanks Professor," Harry replied, shoulders drooped, aching and worn-out, "I think I'll just rest here a while."

Flitwick gave Harry one last smile, then turned and left the room.

Harry fell to the floor and groaned. He lay completely sore, every joint in his body stiff from the bombardment of hexes.

'_Now THAT was a workout,'_ thought Harry ruefully.

A creaking sound from the corner of the room sent Harry's nerves into high gear. He sat bolt upright and directed his wand to where he heard the sound and noticed the door had been left open, possibly by Flitwick… but with Moody running around, he couldn't be sure…

He caught a shimmering movement out of the corner of his vision, and using every ounce of reserve; Harry jumped to a crouched position, pointed his wand, and yelled, "Incarcerous!"

Harry saw the silver colored ropes shoot out of his wand before he passed out once more, only to wake up moments later with his back to a padded wall in the training room, with Moody hovering over him - his vision blurry, and his head in an uncomfortable spin.

"Here, drink some of this son," growled Moody, still looking like a pirate and handing Harry the same vial of Pepperup Potion.

If it were possible, Harry's mood grew darker still, as the sudden realization that he had been stunned for the eighth time in three days hit him. He was not growing fond of the experience, and now it seemed his left eye wanted to twitch uncontrollably…

"…Enough reminiscing Crookshanks," mumbled Harry sleepily, quickly falling into a deep slumber.

To which the ginger cat yawned, and gently pawed Harry's chest - as yet another gentle breeze delivered yet another night of pleasant dreams, and the sweet scents of what Harry could only describe as _'home'_ …

13


	9. Dumbledore, and the Impossible

**Chapter 9**

**Dumbledore, and the Impossible**

"Wow Crookshanks, it's really poring outside," said Harry as he looked out his bedroom window.

For being three in the afternoon, it was rather dark. Huge water droplets of rainfall hit the patio cover beneath his room loudly. The occasional sounds of thunder, and bursts of lightening flash, brought a small genuine smile to his face. The raw power and energy of a thunderstorm still fascinated him, much as it did when he was younger.

Harry knew it to be strange; no one else he knew enjoyed this type of weather as much as he did. But he always felt refreshed somehow, invigorated. He really couldn't explain it.

His room was a bit chilly, as he had not closed his window, so he quickly did his best to dry his hair from the hot shower he had taken, and attempted to flatten it. He didn't know why he always felt compelled to do so. He supposed it had somehow become forcefully ingrained in him by his Aunt.

Dressing for the day's lesson, and already in jeans, he put on a long sleeved t-shirt and threw the towel over the foot of his bed. He gazed once more out his window and watched as a couple of neighbor kids ran and played in the rain in their back yard, throwing a tennis ball at each other.

Harry recognized them as the brothers who lived directly behind him. They were about ten and twelve, and he was quite surprised to see that they had grown considerably since last year.

Harry envied them more than they would ever know. They had never spoken to each other, but he could see that they were very close, always together. He knew that no matter what became of them, they would always have one another. And they grew being loved by their parents. Every now and then, he would see them all out together, barbequing, swimming in their pool, or playing football.

Harry frowned at the last thought. He believed they were loved, because he could hear and see how much fuss their parents would give about every little thing, and of course, there was all those hugs and cheek kissing. But truthfully, he didn't really know what love was. He strongly suspected that the only time he had ever felt love in his life was when he was a baby, when his parents were alive.

Harry found himself wondering what love was. He had fancied Cho for a couple of years true, and Ron kept teasing him about being _in love_. But if what Harry felt for her was truly love, then he was sorely disappointed. He imagined having more intense feelings than he did at the very least. He hadn't really even thought of her until now…

Even Ginny had fancied him because he was "Harry Potter" savior of the wizarding world. He would never find a girl who wouldn't have some preconceived notion of him, expect him to be some great hero he knew he wasn't. Maybe he could find a muggle born girl…

Harry couldn't help but laugh softly at himself. He removed his glasses, smacked his forehead, and then rubbed the stinging sensation he had given himself vigorously. He couldn't believe how ridiculous he was being. There he was, wasting time pondering the meaning of love when he should be preparing to kill his mortal enemy.

He turned form the window, put his glasses back on and smiled at Crookshanks, who stretched and pawed the covers of the bed.

"Do you think anyone will ever love me for _who_ I am, and not who they _think_ I am?" asked Harry, running a hand through his untamed hair.

He didn't think it possible that a cat could roll its eyes…

Harry responded by scrunching up his face in utter confusion. He was just about to turn back towards the open window when he was struck on the side of his head by, what he assumed to be, a wet tennis ball - his glasses knocked askew from the impact.

"Ouch!" exclaimed Harry as he rubbed the side of his head and looked around the room, trying to locate the offending ball. "Those kids, I can't believe they'd throw…"

Harry's mutterings were cut off by the spitting of Crookshanks at a small flying brown ball of puff zooming about the room and twittering excitedly.

"Pig!" yelled Harry.

Harry was surprised to find that he was happy to see the little Scops owl, though scared at what Ron's letter would say – Harry hadn't written to him at all so far this holiday. A feeling of guilt crept into the pit of his stomach as he called for Pig to stop and get some water and treats from Hedwig's cage.

With Crookshanks continued disapproving glares, the over-exuberant owl stayed as still as he could on Hedwig's perch. Harry untied and unfolded the letter, then read Ron's easily recognizable and untidy scroll.

_Harry,_

_How are you mate? I haven't heard from you in a while, though I did hear from Hermione that you are 'coping' (that's her word by the way). She's been sounding quite the nutter in her letters, practically the whole thing about not getting you in any kind of trouble. Why would I do something like that? And she's been writing to Ginny a lot. I don't know what's up with those two. I get a couple of paragraphs and Ginny gets a novel. What's up with that? And to make things worse Looney's been here for the past two days! _

_Blimey Harry, she keeps staring at me all weird! Well, at least she laughs at my jokes, she's the only one who does, as Ginny was 'kind' enough to point out this morning… And Pig's totally in love with her, you should see how strange he acts around her. Last night when were all at the dinner table, Looney sat right next to me even though there were plenty of other seats! I tried to move to another chair but Pig kept circling the both of us like he was possessed or something! I thought I was going to have to stun him! I mean really, Ginny's all weird, Hermione's all weird, and Luna's all… well… I suppose she's always that way… Geez Harry, what's gotten in to everybody? Even Mum's been a bit off lately!_

_Anyway, how are the muggles treating you? I could send over some pretty good stuff from the joke shop for you to use on them if you like, just say the word mate! The Ministry can't bust you for playing a joke on someone now can they! I wonder if some of the really nasty stuff is illegal… won't hurt to try though will it? I'll see about getting you some…_

_Did I tell you? Their joke shop has been doing great! Ginny, Looney, and I have been helping them out for a few hours just about every day. It's been nice to finally have some money of our own… Kate and Alicia have been working there every day too. I overheard Fred and George the other day saying they should all get a flat together, to be nearer to the shop. Eww! Do you think they like each other like that?_

_Guess who else has been coming in every day. Neville! He just hangs around. I don't know what he's doing there though. He never buys anything, so George finally put him to work the other day, doing inventory with Ginny. Everyone seemed quite pleased with him when he did. I still don't get it, and no one will explain it to me…_

_I saw Hedwig the other day, I thought you had written to me, but she went straight to Mum. Mum then ran off to the apothecary. I figured Hedwig has been staying with Hermione so… Do you suppose she's still taking potions 'cause she's still hurt? I don't know mate, should we ask her?_

_Mum says you can come to the Burrow tomorrow. Will you come? I hope so! Everyone's looking forward to seeing you, and I need help! _

_Give your reply to Pig and chuck him out the window so he gets a good start (that's what I do!)._

_Hope to see you tomorrow,_

_Ron_

Harry grimaced at the last bit. Was Hermione still taking potions? Why didn't she say something to him about it when they last saw each other?

Harry had the brief thought of writing to Hermione to ask, but upon looking at Ron's little owl, decided against it. There was simply no way that tiny bird, no matter how enthusiastic it was, could make it to France.

He frowned once more in slight frustration, and silently vowed he would get to the bottom of it one way or another…

Harry was grateful that Ron didn't once mention the fact that Harry had not written back to him at all. He had felt a little guilty about it, but Ron seemed to have understood why, and had written as if this was the first letter he had sent to Harry during the holiday. He grabbed a spare bit of parchment and began scribbling a quick response.

**Ron,**

**It's good to hear from you. What makes you think your Mum going to the apothecary was for medication for Hermione? Could it have been for someone else? I mean, she still shouldn't be injured should she? I thought Madam Pomphrey cured her. Do you think Hermione's hiding anything from us? Surely she'd tell us if she was still hurt wouldn't she? I don't know now, I'm really starting to worry about her. I hope it's nothing, but be sure to ask her if you hear from her again ok? I will too.**

**Ps. I don't know what's going on with all the girls over there either, I'm sure that you'll work it out. I will see you tomorrow if it's ok with the order.**

**Harry**

Harry re-read his letter, satisfied that he had asked all the right questions; carefully folded it and attached it to Pig's leg, who was attempting to stand unusually still, as if to prove that he actually could.

"Take this back to Ron straight away, and be careful out there, it's a bit windy," said Harry, who walked to the window with Pigwidgeon and gently tossed him out.

Harry thought he should have followed Ron's advice of throwing Pigwidgeon; the little owl immediately plummeted to the ground, and Harry thought he'd have a hard time explaining just how he had injured Ron's pet. As Harry winced from watching the inevitable impact, the tiny owl gave a loud hoot and pulled out of its dive. He seemed a bit off balance at first, but with surprising quickness, he managed to straighten himself and fly straight off.

He turned to Crookshanks, shook his head in disbelief at the ceaseless efforts of the little bird, and said worriedly "Hermione would tell me if she weren't well wouldn't she?"

He didn't think a cat could look as if it wanted to slap someone either…

"…Now Harry, all you have to do is imagine what you like to happen, and then quite simply, command it to be so," said Dumbledore as he peered at Harry from across the kitchen table over his half-moon spectacles.

Harry had already been at it for over two hours and he was beginning to feel inept. The Headmaster had made it sound so easy, just focus on a steaming pot of tea resting on top of the table, point the wand and _'command'_ it into being.

After several failed attempts, the Headmaster's request of a steaming pot of tea - became one of a teapot, which then became a teacup, which in turn became any cup at all. The only thing Harry seemed to be able to conjure was the air itself.

Harry slammed his wand down on top of the table in the basement kitchen of Grimmauld, and rubbed his temples in earnest.

"How am I supposed to do this without incantations or anything?" growled Harry in frustration.

"Harry, magic has little to do with wand waving and words, it's all in the strength of the mind," Dumbledore patiently explained. "Words, like wand waving, are meant to be aids in concentration only. They are the focal points of the spells that are to be cast. Surely, you have noticed that not all the spells require incantations or such. In truth, no spell requires the use of either. I hope to impart this very useful skill onto you."

"But that just seems so impossible! I mean, I understand with simpler spells and all, but what about the more complex ones?" demanded Harry, frustration quickly becoming the norm for him.

"Harry…do you remember the Duel between Tom and I?" asked Dumbledore.

"How could I forget?" retorted Harry.

"Did you hear either of us saying any incantations at all?" questioned Dumbledore.

"Well… no, I suppose not," answered Harry, realizing what the Headmaster was getting at.

"Do you think, in the heat of battle, it would have been wise for us to have shouted out every spell we cast at each other?" questioned Dumbledore with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course not," replied Harry.

"We used, what you would call 'complex' spells, but in reality **that** is a false assumption, there is no such thing as a 'complex' spell Harry. They are all inherently the same thing – a projection of the casters strength of will and concentration, no more, no less. Our task here together is to get you to see this simple fact," stated the Headmaster.

When Harry furrowed his brow in concentration, Dumbledore continued, "If it helps, say the incantation in your mind only and not out loud."

"Ok," said Harry, still unsure if this was going to work out or not.

"Let's start with something simple shall we?" said Dumbledore as he conjured a feather and set it upon the table. "Go ahead and levitate it Harry."

Harry pointed his wand, concentrated on the 'swish and flick' motion Hermione had always admonished, and in his mind said _"Wingardium Leviosa!"_ and to Harry's mild amusement, nothing happened.

He tried several more times, each time with identical results, until finally giving up for the evening.

"I can't do this Professor. I mean, I'm trying, but I just can't get it," said Harry, grabbing and pulling his hair in complete irritation.

"It's quite alright Harry, I couldn't do this the very first time I tried either, that is, until I realized that I had been trying too hard. Instead of concentrating on the end, I had been concentrating on the means - perhaps you are doing the same?"

"Perhaps…" mumbled Harry, then quite suddenly he blurted out, "Is Hermione still taking potions for the curse Dolohov gave her?"

Dumbledore looked as if he did not want to answer this particular question at all, but was about to reply when he suddenly stopped and his eyes began to flicker in a most different and distinct way. At that exact moment, the hairs on the back of Harry's head stood on end.

Harry raised his wand, intently focusing on the vague sensations coursing through the back of his neck. There was definitely a presence, and something was certainly about to happen, Harry was convinced that Dumbledore felt it too, but surprisingly was not reacting to it at all.

All of a sudden, everything began to happen in slow motion, as if Harry had slowed down time itself. The door to the kitchen boiler flew open; Moody jumped out from a crouched position, yelling something Harry didn't understand, though it was most likely a spell. And Harry jumped just as quickly back from his chair, pointing his wand at his would be assailant, desperately wanting to subdue him.

What happened next surprised both Moody and Harry, but apparently, not Dumbledore, as a thick silvery rope shot out of Harry's wand and wrapped itself around a wide-eyed Moody even before he had hit the ground from his initial jump. Now out of control, Moody went crashing face first into the chair at the head of the table; wooden bits of the shattered chair were sent flying in every direction from the impact.

Time appeared to have returned to normal just as quickly and abruptly as it had slowed. Harry ran forward, hoping beyond hope that the crazy old Auror wasn't hurt.

"Professor!" yelled Harry as he ran forward to the end of the table -Dumbledore following from the opposite side.

"Ooohhh," Moody moaned face down, arms completely bound to his sides by what looked to be thick strands of platinum rope.

Dumbledore bent down, quickly turned the old Auror over, and held him up into a sitting position. Harry almost gasped at what he saw…

Moody's hollow eye was swelling and turning colors at a very uncomfortable rate. He seemed to be out of it as he opened his good eye and stared blearily at Harry. He then cracked the largest smile he had ever given to anyone in his entire life. It did nothing to sooth Harry's nerves however; as it became abundantly clear that Moody had also lost several teeth from the unexpected collision with the chair.

"Good job boy…" beamed Moody rather stupidly, before passing out completely.

Dumbledore conjured a stretcher and then levitated the unconscious Auror to it.

"Perhaps a call to Madam Pomphrey is in order," said Dumbledore in obvious amusement, he then waved his wand around the silver bonds surrounding Moody's wrapped up body.

Harry watched as nothing happened.

Dumbledore gave a start of mild surprise, looked briefly at Harry over his half-moon glasses, and then repeated his previous wand motions over Moody's bonds.

Again, nothing happened.

"Professor…?" began Harry, puzzled at what Dumbledore was trying to do.

The Headmaster answered Harry's unfinished question by straightening himself and fully facing him - eyes full of a twinkling, and a smirk Harry had never seen before. He then opened his mouth and pleasantly said, "Harry, would you be so kind as to remove your binding spell from Alastor?"

7


	10. The Rocks upon Which We Stand

A/N: I did not like Chapter 10 as it stood **at all**, especially after I had time to re-read it. I'm fairly disappointed that in my hurry to post every other week, I didn't double check it for grammatical/spelling errors or quality in general. I'm sorry to have done that to you readers – you all surely deserve the best I have to offer, and I will be much more patient with my posts. That being said, as I worked on Chapters 11 and 12, I realized that I omitted some pretty significant things necessary for both the flow, and the events to come… So here is the revised Chapter 10, the scene between Lupin and Harry at the end is basically the same, though I did both remove and add some things - so that the rhythm, tempo, and story telling are greatly improved and much more to my liking. With any luck, you'll like the revised version of Chapter 10 even more as well.

So without further ado…

**Chapter 10**

**The Rocks upon Which We Stand**

He found himself low on a marble floor, crawling on his belly and slithering towards a man who sat reading a paper in a chair at the end of the hallway in front of a dark door. The lights were dim, and Harry knew he hadn't yet been detected.

He flicked out his tongue and tasted the air. To his surprise, the man was not reading - he had fallen asleep and hidden himself behind the paper. Harry lowered his head, and swiftly and silently moved past him, pushing the bottom corner of the door so that he could slide past and enter.

He coiled himself and raised his head, all the while tasting the air for enemies, and looked around, searching for something… something important, hoping that his plans had not yet been discovered, that the object of great importance had not yet been removed…

There was no fixed light in the room at all, but the interior shone with a diamond-like sparkling throughout. The vibrations of ticking clocks permeated throughout the room like a thousand soldiers marching to some strange tune, confirming he had successfully reached his destination undetected.

Raising his head further he could see clocks of all makes and shapes occupying every crevice, tabletop, bookcase, stand, desks, and corners of the room. But he was interested in none.

He lowered his head and crawled between several lined desks to the source of the sparkling light at the end of the room. Once there, he raised his head above the stand and gazed at a huge crystal bell jar, in which dazzling and swirling lights of wind spun. And within that, rising and falling through its life cycle - a hummingbird.

Satisfied, Harry began lowering his head until he caught sight of his reflection on the crystal jar and paused. His skin stood waxy and whiter than bone, he reached up to touch his face with long fingers attached to a hand that looked like a large ashen spider. Coming to a sudden realization, he froze.

"Go on and look Harry… I won't bite," said a cold high-pitched voice.

Harry looked up to his reflection once more, only to find wide blood-red eyes, gleaming through cat-like slits, gazing at him with mingled curiosity and loathing. He grinned, stretching his gaunt white face and revealing fanged teeth.

"I didn't know I had company," hissed Harry's reflection. He then sent his serpent shaped tongue through the air once more, "And you have brought someone with you I see… A Familiar…yesss, though not yours… Whose could it be I wonder?" he finished, widening his wicked grin and raising his wand with his other hand, twirling it between his long fingers.

Harry was too stunned to speak, certain that somehow he and Voldemort had fused, and his mind franticly raced to recall all the Occlumency blocks Hermione had written - and then, in his chest he felt both a radiating warmth, and a strange low rhythmic rumbling, as if thunder could breath... He felt his mind calm just as quickly as it had panicked, and then was able to drop all thoughts into blackness.

"What's the matter Harry…_cat_ got your tongue?" smiled Voldemort.

'_Blackness – blackness – blackness'_, Harry forcefully thought.

"You are a poor conversationalist Harry, and since you won't play… GET OUT!" yelled the Dark Lord as he thrust one long fingered hand into the side of his head and violently jerked his hand out and away to the side.

Harry felt himself thrown to a cold ground. He quickly turned to face the Voldemort-creature, recognising the serpent at once as Voldemort's venomous snake – Nagini.

The viper had coiled in preparation to strike, but then appeared to have been frozen in place - its black unblinking eyes fixed upon Harry, and its tongue flicking quickly about as if not believing what it was sensing.

The rumbling sounds Harry heard earlier, and the warmth he felt, became even more pronounced, and he suddenly lost all coherent thought… He too raised his head with bared fangs, and coiled body, positioning himself to strike the insolent challenger who had dared to invade his territory and threaten his mate…

Dawning comprehension crossed Nagini's face, "Yessss… of courssse… esssenccce divided…"

Hatred blasted through Nagini's eyes and he lunged forward with lightening speed to strike at the exact same moment as Harry… They struck each other simultaneously, each sinking their fangs into the others long bodies.

The poison consumed him, and darkness quickly followed…

Harry slowly awoke to the loud purring of Crookshanks atop his chest and opened his eyes. The room was still very dark, but the moonlight provided enough light for him to see. His scar lightly throbbed, but did not hurt. He was greatly surprised that he did not wake up in pain. So much so that he began to think that perhaps he had had an ordinary dream… well, ordinary for him at least. It wasn't the typical nightmares of death he had been having up until several days ago, but it was a nightmare never the less. How could anything with Voldemort not be?

But why had he dreamed about a room at the Department of Mysteries? And why did he dream about Voldemort being there? Surely he wouldn't return to the Ministry. The prophecy had been destroyed, and he knew that. It didn't make sense at all… And why were they both snakes? Essence divided? Why would Dumbledore's cryptic mumbling be repeated in his dream?

He looked over to his alarm clock and saw that it was only two in the morning. Harry closed his eyes once more and sighed heavily. He turned his head and rested back into his pillow and petted Crookshanks softly – appreciating the warmth and vibrating sensations the ginger cat continued to provide.

It seemed that his mind had chosen a few select events of the past year and jumbled them together in some bizarre fashion… And though the dream was quite vivid, he reasoned that he hadn't really been inside Voldemorts head at all- thus, the fact that he was not in pain. Harry shook his head and chastised himself. He definitely was beginning to get paranoid…

He looked over to the feminine coat of his best friend, still draped over his chair and pressed firmly against the head of his bed. His heart swelled as he recalled a most unexpected surprise…

After repeated assurances that Moody would have a full recovery in less than two days from Madam Pomphrey, Harry reluctantly left Grimmauld and returned to his room at Privet Drive. As his lessons had ended early, he had plenty of time to finish off the last of the food and deserts Hermione had made for him, and revise his Transfiguration essay for McGonagall.

He had been going through the mental rituals of Occlumency after a couple of hours of revising when there came a soft knocking on his door. Perplexed, he opened it only to find a very nervous and obviously uncomfortable Dudley. His cousin easily stood over half a foot taller than he, and was nearly as wide as a mountain troll. It was almost funny to see him in such a state, but oddly enough to Harry, it just didn't seem right.

"Yes?" said Harry, noticing that Dudley was doing everything possible not to look at him.

"Ah…Harry…you ah…have a phone call…But you'd better make it quick because Mum and Dad will be home soon and I'm sure to be in for it if they find out I let you on the phone," said Dudley, the last bit hurriedly before he lost his resolve.

"Oh…thanks…" said Harry in confusion, taking the proffered phone from Dudley's outstretched hand.

"Just…just leave it outside your door when you're done and I'll…I'll put it away," he finished, still refusing to make eye contact and turning quickly back down the stairs.

Dumbfounded by both Dudley's odd behaviour and the fact that he actually had a phone call – he looked down to the black wireless in his hand, unsure how to proceed… Harry had never spoken on the phone before.

"He…Hello," said Harry tentatively into what, he hoped, was the proper end.

"Harry!" came Hermione's excited and vibrant expression, "I'm so happy to hear your voice! I wasn't sure I'd be able to talk to you… Oh Harry I can't tell you enough about how very proud I am of you! Dumbledore told me all about your lesson; a binding spell is incredibly advanced magic Harry – N.E.W.T. level! I wish I could have been there to see Moody's face, I bet he was actually happy that you had finally gotten the best of him… Honestly though, all those extra training sessions you told me he was giving you in your letters was beginning to get on my nerves. I couldn't figure out how you were supposed to be learning properly if you were constantly being attacked by him. I had half a mind to go to Grimmauld and hex him myself! But you did it Harry! YOU did it! You got the best Auror there is! And then Dumbledore told me he couldn't undo your spell! Is that true? I mean wow Harry! Based on what I've been reading, that makes you right up there with him!" said Hermione very quickly and seemingly in one breathe.

"I guess," said Harry, wondering if he was talking loud enough. He remembered Uncle Vernon speaking rather loudly into the phone, but his Aunt and cousin didn't. So he tried to cast his voice somewhere in between, "Hermione… are you still taking potions… I mean are you still hurt?" Harry asked worriedly.

There was a long pause before Hermione said, "Why would you think that Harry? I'm fine… really."

"Ron told me he's seen his Mum sending Hedwig off with potions ingredients," said Harry, not accepting her answer.

Another long pause, then a heavy sigh, "I won't lie to you Harry… Yes, I am still a little sore -"

"Why didn't you tell me Hermione? Why would you keep that from me?" interrupted Harry, incensed.

"Like you don't have enough on your plate to concern yourself with!" she answered hotly. "Honestly Harry, Madam Pomphrey says that I just need a few more doses and that's all. I'll be one hundred percent in no time!"

The uncomfortable thought that he was to blame for her condition stung him deeply. All the warmth he had felt just moments before fled him, and he felt so cold that he shivered – his ire replaced by remorse.

"I'm… I'm so sorry Hermione…" said Harry quietly.

He turned his eyes to the night sky outside his open window, unfocused and in the beginnings of tears. He knew then and there that he should have followed his initial instinct – stay away from his friends, and thus keep them safe. He was an incredible danger to them all… especially Hermione. Unlike Ron, she didn't have a family full of witches and wizards to protect her should she be singled out.

But what if he were to fulfil the terms of the prophecy... After all, Voldemort only wanted him… and Harry was sure he could perform the Avada Kedavra curse if he had to… the problem being that he wasn't even really sure of what the prophecy meant, though he was positive that if anyone could figure it out it would be Hermione. However, Harry was convinced that this was one particular burden he was not willing to share. The simple fact that he was her friend was burden enough…

Harry found himself wishing that Dumbledore had killed him that night in the atrium of the Ministry, and in doing so, perhaps Voldemort also…

"Harry?" sniffed Hermione softly, interrupting his destructive train of thought. "I know what you're thinking. Please stop… Please stop doing this to yourself. I want you to know that I… I'm… That I feel safe when I'm near you Harry. It's when we're apart that I'm scared… You've got to believe me when I tell you that… And I'm begging you not to do anything foolish. I'll be back in less than a week… Promise me you won't do anything foolish!"

"Hermione, why would I…" Harry started, cut short.

"Promise me!" demanded Hermione.

Though he did not fully comprehend her meanings, hearing her in such an emotional and panicky state caused Harry to immediately acquiesce, "Yes Hermione… I… I promise…" And upon hearing her attempt to stifle her sobs, he added, "I'll… I'll be right here waiting for you… I promise."

"Thank you Harry… you have no idea what it means to me to hear what you just said," sniffed Hermione.

Relief washed over Harry now that Hermione seemed to have stopped crying, so he responded with an intellectual "Err…"

"I'll tell you what… Let's make a pact," said Hermione, trying to sound a bit more chipper, "I won't keep anything from you… and you won't keep anything from me. What do you say?"

Alarm bells immediately began screeching in the dark recesses of his mind. There was simply no way that he could tell her everything that he was keeping from her. Heck, he didn't even know what it was that he had been keeping from her in the first place – aside from the prophecy of course… and maybe the fact that he talked to Crookshanks as if the bandy- legged cat were an actual person who could understand what he was saying… In fact, if he were to admit that in particular, he was certain that she would think he was taking the Mickey.

No. There was no way he could agree to her proposal. So he racked his brain to come up with a way to let her know how much he appreciated her offer, but at the same time, refuse…

"Well… Hermione… You see… the thing is… I… Well I talk to Crookshanks," Harry blurted intelligently.

There was a moment of dead silence, and Harry's wide eyed face froze, completely mortified that his mouth had betrayed him so.

Hermione burst into a fit of giggles - and Harry's expression immediately changed into one of bemusement as he realized that he had never heard her giggle before… His heart gave a leap at the thought that he, Harry, had made his best friend do something that he could not recall her ever doing – albeit not purposefully, but still… He found himself grinning with pleasure at the sound of her laughter.

"Oh Harry, you're absolutely hopeless," she said with a great sigh. "It's alright though, I'll wait just a short while longer… and besides, I talk to Hedwig a lot too," she finished.

"What do you talk to Hedwig about?" asked Harry, both surprised and curious.

"Oh, about a lot of things really – she's a great listener…" she paused, then said, "My Great-Grandmother's town is beautiful Harry. It's right on the coast. One day I will bring you here to see the little fishing village and meet her. She's quite wise and sweet, very funny too. I just know you'd love her. She already has a name for you, she calls you my _coeurs desirent, _and she tells me she can't wait for me to introduce you to her…" another short pause, and then softly, "This trip has been different for me… I look around at my family, talking, laughing, and loving – I know you don't have those things, and I find myself wishing you were here too - To share them with you and you with them. I want you to see the ocean, and feel the spray on your face. I desperately want for you what I want for myself… to be wanted, and not so much needed, to be loved by those who you love… I look around and I realize that you could be lost here with me, no worries, no demands, and no expectations… I desperately want that for you Harry…for us… When we graduate, I will bring you here… that's a promise."

A strange and unfamiliar feeling crept into Harry's centre – hope for a tangible future. A future he could both see and touch. He wanted to see if he could find the resemblance between Hermione and her Great-Gran, and laugh with her family. He wanted to board one of the fishing boats in the little town, and set sail for the day. He wanted to taste the salt of the ocean, and witness all the reflected colours of the water as the sun set atop the edge of the earth. He was shocked to discover that there were many things he wanted…

"I… I've never seen the ocean Hermione…" said Harry softly, "Do… do you really think I'll like it there?"

"Oh yes Harry, I mean it's a nice place to visit – I'm not asking you to sell the house or anything. But I've staked out some nice spots for picnicking on the coast, and little restaurants and tea shops I thought you'd like... Did you know that Merlin himself once lived in the woods right behind where I'm now standing? That would make a fine trip," said Hermione, returning to her old bookish self.

"Merlin?" said Harry, "I didn't know…"

A loud "thud" at Harry's door interrupted him and Harry turned to see his cousin winded.

"Dad's pulled into the driveway… you'd better finish up," said Dudley, before turning and nervously heading back towards the edge of the stairs.

"I'm sorry Hermione that was Dudley, strange as it sounds – I don't want to get him in trouble this time so I must be off… I can't wait to see you though, so you can tell me in person more about your visit," said Harry, before quickly adding, "And tell your Great-Gran I can't wait to meet her either."

"She'll be very happy to hear that, I'll be sure to let her know," she said happily, then softly, "Do your best Harry, and have sweet dreams…"

"Thanks again Hermione… I don't know what I'd do without you," sighed Harry.

"Me either Harry," Hermione sighed in return. "Now get!" she teased…

The wind was crisp and it stung his face. He didn't find it unusual at all that he was the only one out at the Quidditch pitch - no one ever seemed to be there when he was. But whenever he would circle about the inside of Hogwarts stadium on his broom, he would always chance a look at where the Gryffindor's sat; in particular the third seat, front row, to see if someone would be there, perhaps looking back up at him. He felt rather silly doing it. No one had ever appeared…

Oddly however, the golden snitch would. It would always appear at exactly the same time, in that same seat. Though Harry would fly about during the day, he wouldn't see it until the golden orb flickered in the moonlight, yearning for his attention. He would then be compelled to posses it - instinctively drawn to its shimmering beauty by some ravenous form of magnetism.

And each time it appeared – Harry, guided by the clear moonlit sky, would dive for it faster than his Firebolt would ever allow. And each time, just as he reached out his hand to grasp it, it would shift slightly - and unable to alter his course or stop, he would crash into the stands at an incredible speed.

Strangely, he would just stand back up, completely uninjured, no worse for wear. And upon looking up, would see his Firebolt continuing the chase - the snitch flying only inches in front of it as if performing some strange and enticing dance amongst the stars – his broom forever bound to follow.

At first, this time was no different - he flew around in circles, until the night came and the moon shone bright. But then, as he searched the Gryffindor stands for the ever elusive snitch, his heart began to race with some unknown force of anticipation, as a pronounced "rumbling" sound reverberated from the night sky into the stadium - strong and rhythmic, as if the world around him were alive and breathing.

The snitch sat clearly there, just above the seat in the first row. He could see it more clearly now than ever before, and his heart beat so strongly that he felt faint. Harry instantly became worried that he may fall, the pounding growing so strong that it had reached his head, so that he now he also found it difficult to breath. He felt himself slip on his broom, and so gripped it till his knuckles shown white.

The rumbling grew more intense, and Harry felt a surge of warmth course from the top of his chest, down through and into his heart and then back on to his stomach. He focused on the sounds around him until his breathing matched that of the rumbling and his heart slowed.

He released his hold on the Firebolt and looked down once more to the stadium seating. The golden snitch still hovered above the chair he always looked to, patient and waiting. His heart slow and steady, his breathing relaxed and calm – the rhythmic rumbling sounds and warmth of his chest acted as a cocoon, Harry found himself not on his broom, but Buckbeak.

"Take me to the snitch boy," whispered Harry, as he wrapped both his arms around the hippogriffs neck.

With wings completely spread out, Buckbeak slowly descended, circling towards the Gryffindor stands until level with the first row. Still high in the air, the mighty hippogriff beat his wings, and hovered in place. Harry looked past Buckbeak's head and held out his hand, offering it to the snitch.

The one thing that Harry had always chased instead flew eagerly into his outstretched palm. He did not close his hand as he drew it nearer to him. The continued rumbling vibrated his body as he held the snitch inches from his face, memorizing every detail of the alluring orb. He watched as the tiny, feathery wings beat against his palm, noting their softness and their light touch. He examined all the intricate details drawn on the body, every line, every nuance added to its sheer and natural beauty. He watched as it began to dance in some intricate and mesmerizing manner, never leaving his hand.

The snitch was so much more than just a necessary element of some game, more that some pretty thing to seek, it was complex and layered, behaving in a manner he had seldom understood, but found so necessary and longed-for. Harry wondered why he had never noticed this previously - why it struck him so completely and profoundly. This little thing, seemingly so insignificant and unimportant at first… this little thing, that he had been inexplicably drawn to, and pursued ever since he knew what a wizard was… this little thing, in his hand - with all his being - he simply adored, and held above all other things…

"I have been trying to catch you… but it is you that has caught me," whispered Harry, smiling softly.

The snitch stopped its dance, folded in its wings, and resting atop Harry's palm - turned into the Philosopher's Stone. He gingerly closed his hand, and swore to destroy all who would blemish it…

Harry arrived to basement kitchen of Grimmauld via Portkey around noon, just as Dumbledore had arranged, and set Crookshanks down. He spotted Lupin sitting at the overly large table, heartily eating a roast sandwich and drinking from a cold bottle of butterbeer.

"Master Harry Potter sir!" squealed Dobby, "Please sit down! I have made food for eating also for you and your girls' Crooked!"

Remus chuckled as Harry rolled his eyes, however Crookshanks didn't seem the least bit offended.

Dobby, still wearing his crimson and gold pillowcase, and several knitted elf hats, pointed one long finger across from Lupin, where an identically ready-made plate and open bottle of drink lay, and then with his other hand – to a pair of wooden dishes set by the boiler filled with what looked to be milk and some type of chunky fish stew. He then wandered about, putting bags of groceries into the large pantry that appeared to have been recently cleared.

It looked as if the house-elf had begun the extensive work of cleaning the kitchen, as the oven shone in its polished stainless-steel state, and the aged wooden countertops and sinks, and even the grand oak table Lupin was eating on, glistened with the orangey scents of some scouring solution. The house seemed to be slowly but surely returning to its ancient and grand splendour.

"Thanks Dobby, this'll hit the spot. I finished the last of Hermione's yesterday night, so I haven't eaten anything since," said Harry, taking his seat from across Lupin and acknowledging him. "Hey Remus, you look… good?"

Harry was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the lines that aged the face of his father's friend just last week had smoothed considerably. Though still in old and frayed robes, he seemed healthier and… happy. Not at all how Harry had expected. Perhaps a solid roof over his head and the regular meals Dobby surely provided were cause of such a drastic improvement. But in truth, Harry hadn't really seen much of the werewolf at all.

"Hello Harry," said Lupin in-between mouthfuls of sandwich, and grinning wryly. "I'd say the same for you. In fact, I'd say you look great… well rested and well fed I see."

Harry took a giant bite of his sandwich, swallowed, and then pensively replied, "Yeah… it's weird actually, the way the summer started… I would have never thought…"

"I know what you mean," said Lupin solemnly, nodding his head in understanding.

They sat for a few moments in quiet introspection, both staring at their plates, until Lupin shook his head side to side as if trying to clear a particularly nasty image and broke the silence.

"So… I've been asked to create a sort of support group for those like… well… like me I suppose," said Lupin in an obvious attempt to draw their conversation back to the cheerfulness it had when it first began.

"Yeah…? That's great!" said Harry, looking back up from his plate and meeting Lupin's grey eyes, as he attempted to do the same

"Yeah… Arthur told me about a man who was bitten a few months ago. Apparently, he was getting quite suicidal, so when Tonks heard about him she suggested I go and pay the man a visit… You know, with all the advances in magical medicine St. Mungos hasn't changed how they treat those afflicted with Lycanthropy in over two centuries? They're still quite barbaric," said Lupin, shuddering at the thought.

"I'm… I'm sorry Remus, I had no idea," said Harry apologetically.

"It's alright Harry; I would have been surprised if you had. Most of those who have always lived in the wizarding world have little or no idea. Worse still, they simply don't care, and that's why starting a support group seemed like such a good idea," replied Lupin as he took another bite of his sandwich.

Harry gave a slight frown of confusion. On one hand, he felt terrible that the man he had come to care and learn so much about sitting across from him had lived such a harsh and unfair life – through no fault of his own he had grown ostracized, poor, and unable to hold employment. And if not for Sirius and his father, Lupin might have been friendless as well… But on the other hand, Harry felt more connected to Remus than ever. They had both suffered so similarly and unjustly, and they were now both relentlessly judged by people who did not know them, but had preconceived notions of who, or what they were. And it was in that feeling of connectedness, that Harry's heart grew warm, and he felt a bit stronger.

"We aren't so different are we Harry, you and I?" questioned Lupin, a smile creeping to his face once more. "Though I've heard from Hermione that you should be as studious…" he finished, grinning.

"Yeah, leave it to her to point _that_ particular quality out to you about me," said Harry, returning a grin and biting into his sandwich, his heart growing warmer still.

"Bet neither one of us could have bested Moody at his own game as well, nor as quickly as you did though," said Lupin, grinning even more broadly.

"Oh," began Harry, "You err… heard about that did you?"

"Who hasn't?" questioned Lupin, "He's been telling anyone who'd listen since he regained consciousness this morning."

"He has?" said Harry, "I didn't think he'd want anyone to know…"

"Yeah, I know. He might have been knocked in the head one to many times, but he knows a good wizard when he meets one, and he is extremely proud of his pupil Harry. When The Order met up with him this morning, he was positively beaming and singing your praises – at least I think he was… He was missing too many teeth for a proper smile, and his face was rather swollen - so that might account for his high pitched voice…" said Lupin as he trailed off in confused thought.

"Okay…" said Harry, still feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing and wanting to change the subject, "What have else you been up to?"

"Well… umm… Harry… I've been meaning to tell you," said Lupin, looking rather nervous and blushing slightly… blushing?

"Yes," said Harry, eyebrows raised in curious anticipation.

"I've been, well… kind of dating someone that I had met during one of the support group meetings…" said Lupin, who looked like he'd rather of been in a potions lesson with Snape, "and well… if it's OK with you… I'd like to introduce her to everyone one tonight at Molly's… and I'd especially like to know what you think of her…" finished Lupin, half pleadingly.

"Why do want to know what I think?" said Harry in amazement. "I only dated once, and that was a complete disaster let me tell you! I don't understand girls… heck, I don't know anything about them!"

Lupin smiled and said, "Welcome to manhood Harry, none of us truly understand them… But that's not what I'm saying at all. What I mean is… it's important to me that you like the person that I'm with… I plan on being around you for a long time, it would be nice if we all got along wouldn't it? I would be very uncomfortable bringing around someone who you didn't like… I'd like to be a surrogate Grandfather someday… What if you don't let me see your kids because of her?"

"Whoa… Hang on a second! I don't like where this conversation's going," said Harry, throwing up his hands as if to stop an oncoming train. "Firstly, I'm sure that if you like this person, I will too. Secondly, I'm not even DATING anyone, let alone MARRYING anyone as of yet so there's no sense in even talking about bushy-haired kids galloping about this house!" Harry finished, flustered and strangely red faced by the very idea.

"Yes… OK…" Lupin stated, throwing up his hands in surrender as well, "You're right of course, I just got a little carried away is all. See what I mean? She's already got me thinking more about the future I'd very much like to have… and not so much about the past that I didn't…" finished Lupin, dropping his hands looking down at his plate once more.

Harry's stomach tightened slightly as he watched Lupin bow his head. He knew it wasn't easy for Remus to talk so candidly about such things, he seemed to desperately be in need friendship and the understanding that follows… and Harry was struck once more by the thought that he was all that the werewolf had left – out of the only friends he had ever had in his entire life… He wanted to tell Remus how much he valued and respected him and how he wanted him to be a large part of his life until he grew old and died… but deep down in the pit of his soul - Harry didn't believe he would live to have the family that both he and Lupin so desperately wanted for themselves.

So, instead he said as kindly as he could, "You said you met her at a werewolf support group. Is she a werewolf too?"

Lupin looked up at Harry once more and replied with another soft smile, "No. Actually, I met her just as I was leaving the meeting…name's Phyllis. She had accidentally knocked over a patient tray and one of the mediwitches was really laying into her about it. I went over to see if I could help and well… we got to talking, found we had a lot in common and so we sort of hit it off. She's a very open minded witch actually, fully supports what I'm trying to do. Said one of her best friends is a werewolf and doesn't mind me being one at all."

"I'm really happy for you Remus, she obviously makes you happy. For that alone I'm convinced I'll like her. I'm actually looking forward to meeting her tonight. Does Mrs. Weasley know?" said Harry.

This mystery woman clearly had a positive effect on Lupin's well-being, and Harry was extremely happy for it… apparently it wasn't as simple a strong roof and a good meal after all…

"Oh yeah," nodded Lupin, grinning once again. "Molly's quite excited actually, you'd think I was introducing her to a future sister in-law… which reminds me, we're a bit late. We were supposed to Floo over five minutes ago… They're probably worried," he finished, standing up and hurrying over to the giant fireplace.

Harry also stood quickly and followed as Lupin grabbed the jar of Floo powder and ignited a fire with his wand.

"I'd better go first Harry… just in case. Don't forget, your box of jelly beans will Portkey you back here straightaway if there is a problem at the other end," said Lupin, looking extremely grim.

"I understand," replied Harry, nodding.

"Good," said Lupin, throwing a handful of powder into the fireplace, stepping into the green flames and yelling, "The Burrow!" and then disappearing with a flash.

"Wait Harry Potter sir!" yelled Dobby, running out of the pantry and stopping in a huff in front of Harry just as he gathered Crookshanks into his arms and grabbed a handful of Floo powder.

"What is it Dobby?" asked Harry, concerned by the house-elf's abrupt behaviour.

"Dobby just wants to let Harry Potter know that he has finished with his Wheezy's and his girlfriend's rooms so that you may bring them here if you wish!" exclaimed Dobby proudly.

Harry sighed, and then exasperatedly said, "Dobby, how many times do I have to tell you that Hermione is NOT my girlfriend, she's my BEST friend."

"If Harry Potter's girl is his BEST friend, than what is Harry Potter's Wheezy?" demanded the house-elf as he crossed his arms.

Harry began to both vigorously scratch and coat his head with his Floo-covered hand. He then scrunched up his face in frustration and wondered just how the house-elf could not see and/or understand something that was so blatantly right in front of his face… He could only reason that this house-elf's mind must simply work differently than his.

"Ok, Dobby… fine. Ron is my best friend and Hermione is my girl… err… best… friend," said Harry - shaking his head in bewildered defeat, as he turned and hurriedly threw the powder into the fireplace and then backed inside to the bright green flames.

"Tell your Wheezy Dobby has made lots of good eating's for him!" called the house-elf.

Harry nodded, and then yelled, "The Burrow!" before he too disappeared amongst the green flames…

**Chapter 11**

**Return to the Burrow**

When Harry arrived at the Burrow's fireplace, the first person he noticed was Ron, and to say that he was ecstatic to see Harry would have been like saying Hermione was only slightly upset to have failed a lesson…

13


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